SCOTLAND

Departmental Civil Servants

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many employees of his Department attended Civil Service Live in  (a) 2008,  (b) 2009 and  (c) 2010; and what estimate he has made of the (i) employee working hours taken up by and (ii) cost to his Department of such attendance in each such year.

David Mundell: No Scotland Office staff attended Civil Service Live in 2008, 2009 or 2010.

Departmental ICT

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on information and communication technology in each year since 1997.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office shares an information technology system (SCOTS) with the Scottish Government, who are responsible for the development, administration and maintenance of the system, including the provision of hardware and software. The Scotland Office and Office of the Advocate-General are charged a share of the costs based on the number of our workstations provided. The costs are highlighted in the following table:
	
		
			   Expenditure (£) 
			 2000-01 46,770 
			 2001-02 77,600 
			 2002-03 76,242 
			 2003-04 75,699 
			 2004-05 68,551 
			 2005-06 66,289 
			 2006-07 106,193 
			 2007-08 115,073 
			 2008-09 114,868 
			 2009-10 108,942 
		
	
	Information relating to 1999-2000 is not available.

Departmental Meetings

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what meetings he had with each ministerial colleague between 30 May and 22 June 2010; and what matters were discussed at each such meeting.

Michael Moore: Since being appointed, I have had many meetings with ministerial colleagues at which I have discussed a wide range of issues.

Departmental Utilities

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on  (a) electricity,  (b) water,  (c) heating and  (d) telephone services in each year since 1997.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Since that date, the following expenditure has been incurred:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Electricity  Water  Gas (heating)  Telephone services 
			 1999-2000(1) 11,855 1,067 43,024 20,164 
			 2000-01 22,807 3,656 78,224 103,492 
			 2001-02 19,526 4,221 94,866 99,709 
			 2002-03 28,439 7,018 88,244 90,379 
			 2003-04 23,703 11,699 88,085 94,944 
			 2004-05 23,372 13,666 96,362 80,484 
			 2005-06 21,650 9,867 106,883 86,560 
			 2006-07 36,488 14,140 105,968 76,286 
			 2007-08 26,481 14,216 78,669 82,793 
			 2008-09 30,728 11,582 100,262 90,785 
			 2009-10 33,809 13,694 63,057 108,716 
			 (1) Part year.

Economic Situation: Scotland

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which organisations he met between 30 May and 22 June 2010 to discuss the  (a) state of the economy in Scotland and  (b) effects on Scotland of the June 2010 Budget.

Michael Moore: In the run-up to the Budget on 22 June I had numerous discussions with a wide range of organisations on the state of the Scottish economy and during this time I received many representations with regard to the forthcoming Budget.

Merchant Shipping

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with Scottish Executive Ministers and ministerial colleagues on the date for the coming into force of the Merchant Shipping (Ship-to-Ship Transfers) Regulations 2010.

Michael Moore: My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport made a written ministerial statement on 8 July 2010,  Official Report, column 14WS, in which he explained the reasons why the Government have decided to defer the Merchant Shipping (Ship-to-Ship transfers) Regulations 2010 coming into force pending their review. He also wrote to the Scottish Government, to all interested MPs and relevant industry and environmental bodies to advise them of the contents of the Statement.

Trade Unions: Shipbuilding

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met trades union representatives of employees at  (a) Rosyth and  (b) Clyde shipyards to discuss the shipbuilding industry in Scotland.

Michael Moore: I recognise the importance of the shipbuilding industry to Scotland's economy. I will meet Babcock management and union representatives in Rosyth later this month. It is also my intention to visit BVT of the Clyde in the near future.

Voting Systems: Scotland

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  when and by what means he informed  (a) the First Minister,  (b) the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament,  (c) the Electoral Commission in Scotland and  (d) electoral returning officers in Scotland of the Government's proposals to hold a referendum on the alternative vote system on 5 May 2011;
	(2)  what consultation he plans to undertake with  (a) the Scottish Executive,  (b) the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament,  (c) the Electoral Commission in Scotland,  (d) electoral registration officers in Scotland and  (e) the public in Scotland on holding of a referendum on the alternative vote system on 5 May 2011.

Michael Moore: It was right that Parliament was informed of our intentions first and therefore following the Deputy Prime Minister's statement on 5 July, I wrote to the First Minister, the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, other party leaders, and the Scottish Parliament's independent MSP, informing them that we will be holding a referendum on the alternative vote system on 5 May 2011. Holding it on the same day as the Scottish Parliament elections will reduce the cost to the taxpayer and make it more convenient for voters.
	The Deputy Prime Minister has held discussions with the Electoral Commission on a number of matters relating to the referendum, including around the timing. In due course, I will be discussing the arrangements for the referendum in Scotland with the Electoral Commission in Scotland and Scottish electoral administrators, among others.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British  (a) civilian and  (b) military personnel are involved with (i) the training of Afghan police and (ii) other work involving the Afghan police.

Liam Fox: Developing the Afghan National Police (ANP) is an essential part of the counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan, and the UK contribution to developing the ANP is part of a wider international effort. Ultimately, building the capacity of the ANP will allow the Afghan Government to take responsibility for security and allow us to bring UK troops home.
	Around 175 UK military personnel provide support to the development of the ANP in three main ways: through embedding staff officers in NATO Training Mission Afghanistan (NTM-A) Headquarters; by providing trainers and support to NTM-A training institutions; and, through the training and partnering of deployed ANP in Helmand province. In addition to this, large numbers of UK military work with the ANP on a day to day basis as a consequence of embedded partnering.
	The UK has around 35 civilian policing experts training and mentoring the ANP who serve in the EU Policing Mission, NTM-A institutions, and in Helmand Province.

Armed Forces: Families

Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what counselling, advice and support services his Department provides for families of military personnel; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: Counselling, advice and support services are an important area, and such support can be valuable to bereaved families. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has been working with the national bereavement charity CRUSE and the Department of Health to provide bespoke counselling services for armed forces families, but we recognise that such counselling is not necessarily best provided by the MOD. We aim to signpost the most appropriate counselling services for armed forces families which are often provided by non-military bereavement specialists. The three services have funding mechanisms in place to allow families to access the most appropriate counselling services once a need has been identified.
	Additionally, families' activity breaks are being run in conjunction with the Youth Hostels Association to provide breaks for bereaved families where informal counselling is available for children.

Armed Forces: Families

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he plans to take to support families of armed forces personnel.

Andrew Robathan: There are considerable resources available to support service families at the level of the Royal Navy Ship, Army Regiment or Royal Air Force station. These resources are usually co-ordinated by a dedicated unit welfare officer who is able to assess what sort of support is required and then make bespoke arrangements for appropriate provision, accessing relevant service, local authority or charitable sector specialists where necessary. The resources include:
	Professional social workers;
	Station and unit community groups including HIVE information centres;
	Families Welfare Grant money to support of families of deployed personnel;
	Confidential support lines;
	Families' federations
	Dedicated support groups for the bereaved (SSAFA-Forces Help).
	We are also committed to rebuilding the military covenant and have identified a number of areas that will allow us to do so. These measures are listed in our Programme for Government that was published on 22 May.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding his Department provided for rehabilitation of injured service personnel in  (a) Northern Ireland,  (b) Scotland,  (c) Wales and  (d) England in the last 12 months.

Andrew Robathan: The Defence Medical Services manage an extensive armed forces rehabilitation network which meets a wide range of requirements, including treatment for operational casualties. The network includes primary care rehabilitation facilities and 13 Regional Rehabilitation Units (RRUs) across the UK (plus two in Germany). There is one RRU in Northern Ireland (Aldergrove) and one in Scotland (Edinburgh); the other 11 are at locations convenient for centres of major military population across England. In addition, we have the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court in Surrey, where seriously wounded servicemen and women are normally treated following the completion of their secondary care.
	Funding for the treatment of wounded personnel has been, and will continue to be, made available to match clinical requirements, including surges in casualty numbers. Our future budgetary plans assume a continuing need for additional investment in facilities and staff at Headley Court, whose annual running costs in 2009-10 were some £20 million. Responsibility for the individual management of the primary care facilities is shared between the single Service Commands, with oversight from the Joint Medical Command. Owing to the number of different internal budgets to which costs would be attributable, any detailed analysis of local rehabilitation expenditure would therefore incur disproportionate costs. Likewise, the RRUs operate as lodger units within different military facilities, with a range of funding arrangements, and comprehensive financial data is not readily available.
	Where an individual requires specialist rehabilitation services or equipment that can best be provided by a non-MOD organisation (such as some aspects of neurological rehabilitation and specialised prosthetics) this will be arranged at additional cost. In the financial year 2009-10, about £3.4 million was spent on such services by the Joint Medical Command.

Armed Forces: Housing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to increase the level of maintenance and refurbishment of armed forces' accommodation;
	(2)  what plans he has for the construction of new service accommodation in the UK.

Andrew Robathan: The coalition Government place a high priority on the welfare of service personnel and their families. In the Strategic Defence and Security Review we will prioritise the needs and accommodation of defence personnel and their families.
	We will continue to ensure that accommodation is maintained to a high standard and improved where possible, including the construction of new or refurbishment of existing accommodation in the UK and elsewhere.

Armed Forces: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) army,  (b) RAF and  (c) Royal Navy personnel are from (i) Strangford constituency and  (b) Northern Ireland.

Andrew Robathan: This information is not held in the format requested, however details of those recruited through the Armed Forces Careers Office (AFCO) in Belfast, the Army Career Information Offices (ACIO) in Coleraine, Enniskillen, Portadown, and from the Royal Navy's Officer Career Liaison Centre, give an indication of Northern Ireland recruitment into the armed forces in the following table.
	Please note however that this information will not provide a comprehensive picture of individuals recruited from Northern Ireland as it does not include those recruited through AFCOs elsewhere or through other means, such as the internet. In addition, Army Officer figures are not provided as these Officers tend to be recruited through a wider variety of means and any information provided would not be meaningful in this context.
	
		
			  FY 2009-10 
			   AFCO Belfast  ACIO Coleraine  ACIO Enniskillen  ACIO Portadown  Officer Careers Liaison Centre 
			 Naval Services 45 - - - 4 
			 Army 140 42 66 68 - 
			 RAF 26 - - - -

Armed Forces: Vocational Guidance

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what counselling and advice facilities are available for military personnel during and immediately after service to reduce the chances of their entering the criminal justice system.

Andrew Robathan: We do not provide counselling and advice facilities for military personnel during and immediately after service specifically to reduce their chances of entering the criminal justice system.
	Recent analysis by Defence Analytical Services and Advice has estimated the number of veterans in prison establishments in England and Wales to be almost 3% of the prison population.
	All personnel are entitled to receive some form of resettlement provision. This ranges from a comprehensive package of re-training; employment advice; free of charge access to career transition workshops; and access to career advisers. Those who serve less than four years receive a mandatory resettlement brief and a one-to-one resettlement interview within their unit before they discharge. These cover advice on accessing re-employment services such as Jobcentre Plus, advice on housing, the assistance available from ex-service welfare organisations and information about preserved pensions and compensation rights. If, as part of this process, an individual is deemed to be vulnerable to social exclusion then some specialist support is also provided by Service resettlement advisers.

Departmental Lost Property

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what property has been recorded as  (a) lost and  (b) stolen from the Department in the last 12 months; and what estimate has been made of the cost of the replacement of that property.

Nick Harvey: The requested information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ex-Servicemen: West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many veterans' lapel badges have been issued to former members of the armed forces resident in  (a) the West Midlands,  (b) Dudley borough and  (c) Dudley North constituency.

Andrew Robathan: The information requested is not held in the format required and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, as of 9 July 2010, 793,479 veterans' lapel badges have been issued to former members of the armed forces and their entitled dependents since its introduction on 10 April 2004.

Red Arrows

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the running costs, excluding asset depreciation, of the Red Arrows were in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and how much the Royal Air Force received in  (a) sponsorship,  (b) appearance fees and  (c) other payments in respect of the Red Arrows in that period.

Nick Harvey: Officials are collating the information requested. I will write to the hon. Member when this work is complete and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.
	 Substantive answer from Nick Harvey to Mike Hancock:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 29 June, (Official Report, column 483W) about the running costs, excluding depreciation, of the Red Arrows for the last 12 month period for which figures are available and how much the Royal Air Force received in (a) sponsorship (b) appearance fees and (c) other payments in respect of the Red Arrows.
	The running costs (excluding asset depreciation and receipts) for the Red Arrows for financial year 2009-2010 were £9.35 million.
	Over the same period, in respect of the Red Arrows, the RAF received items to the equivalent value of some £85,000 in sponsorship, £425,000 in appearance fees and £14,000 in merchandising Royalties.

Reserve Forces

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to ensure that reserve soldiers receive the same support as regular soldiers following overseas deployment.

Andrew Robathan: Members of the reserve forces and their families receive the same type of support and welfare packages that are provided for regular personnel following overseas deployment.
	In addition, reservists benefit from legal protection of their employment under the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985.

JUSTICE

Crime: Voluntary Work

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions for offences relating to  (a) financial,  (b) physical and  (c) sexual abuse, where the offender was not a family member but working in a voluntary capacity with the victim there were between 1995 and 2005.

Crispin Blunt: The Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. These data include information on the age of the defendant, their gender, the police force area and court where proceedings took place as well as the specific offence and statute for the offence. Other than where specified in the statute information held centrally does not identify a defendant's employment status or whether the defendant was working in a voluntary capacity.

Gary Critchley

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2010,  Official Report, columns 614-5W, on Gary Critchley, whether Gary Critchley's detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 has increased the time he has been required to serve in prison under the life sentence he received for murder.

Crispin Blunt: As I advised in my reply of 1 July, Mr Critchley is serving a life sentence for murder. His detention in hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983 does not change the position that, as a mandatory life sentence prisoner, his re-release on licence is a matter for the Parole Board. The board will not consider his case while his detention in hospital for treatment remains necessary. He can be remitted to prison at any time if his responsible clinician advises that his detention in hospital is no longer necessary. Alternatively, he has the right to have his case reviewed once a year by the independent First-tier Tribunal (Mental Health). A finding by the tribunal that his detention in hospital for treatment was no longer necessary would establish his right to review by the Parole Board.

Gary Critchley

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2010,  Official Report, columns 614-5W, on Gary Critchley, whether Gary Critchley's detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 is related to his conviction for murder.

Crispin Blunt: Mr Critchley is serving a mandatory life sentence following his conviction for murder in May 1981. His transfer to hospital was directed by the Secretary of State in March 2010 under section 47 of the Mental Health Act 1983, which applies to convicted serving prisoners. But the transfer was directed on the basis of medical evidence that he was mentally disordered to an extent which justified his detention in hospital for medical treatment and that appropriate medical treatment was available for him.

Gary Critchley

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2010,  Official Report, columns 614-5W, on Gary Critchley, under which section of the Mental Health Act 1983 Gary Critchley is being detained; when his detention under this section of the Act commenced; and what the dates are of any previous detention of Mr Critchley under the Mental Health Act 1983 since the date of his conviction for murder.

Crispin Blunt: Mr Critchley is detained in hospital under sections 47 and 49 of the Mental Health Act 1983. His transfer to hospital was directed by the Secretary of State by a warrant dated 8 March 2010. Mr Critchley was admitted to hospital on 17 March 2010. There is no record in the Department of his having previously been detained under the Mental Health Act.

Crown Dependency

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will meet representatives of the Government of each Crown Dependency to discuss his Department's role in their administration before 1 September 2010.

Jonathan Djanogly: My noble Friend the Minister of State for Justice (Lord McNally) is the responsible Minister for the day to day relationship between the UK and the Crown Dependencies, is meeting the Chief Minister of Guernsey on 13 July and the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man on 19 July.
	My noble Friend has also written to the Government of each Crown Dependency so that arrangements can be made for future meetings and visits. All meetings and visits will cover a broad range of business.

European Court of Human Rights

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the Government's policy is on implementing decisions of the European Court of Human Rights applicable to the UK.

Kenneth Clarke: The Government are committed to the European Convention on Human Rights and its obligations under that convention. This includes the obligation to implement adverse judgments against the United Kingdom. The Government will set out more detail on this subject when they respond to the report "Enhancing Parliament's role in relation to human rights judgments", the Fifteenth Report of last Session of the Joint Committee on Human Rights.

Extradition: Cyprus

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what recent representations he has received on the imprisonment of Michael Binnington at Edmunds Hill Prison; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent representations he has received on the imprisonment of Luke Atkinson at Wandsworth Prison; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if he will review the case of  (a) Michael Binnington and  (b) Luke Atkinson.

Crispin Blunt: Representations about the imprisonment of Michael Binnington and Luke Atkinson have been received from the hon. Member for Witham and from others.
	Michael Binnington and Luke Atkinson were transferred from a prison in Cyprus to one in the United Kingdom in order serve their prison sentence here. Transfer took place in accordance with the provisions of the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons and the Repatriation of Prisoners Act 1984. I am satisfied that their detention here is both lawful and appropriate. No further review of the case is planned.

Magistrates Courts: Closures

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of his programme of closure of magistrates courts on the average time taken for cases before magistrates courts to be completed.

Jonathan Djanogly: No estimate has been made of the effect on average case completion times of the court estate proposals. Following the public consultation, should a decision be taken to close a court, the work that would have been heard at that court will be transferred to a nearby court with sufficient capacity to hear that work. I do not, therefore, anticipate there being any significant impact on average case completion times. However, my Department will monitor this as part of any post-implementation assessment of the programme.
	Courtroom utilisation, which is the time a courtroom is used against the hours that a courtroom is available for use, currently averages 64% across the magistrates courts. The Government's aim is to increase utilisation of courtroom time to at least 80%. It is estimated that the proposals we are consulting on would result in a national utilisation rate in the magistrates courts of around 80%.

Magistrates Courts: Closures

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the closure of magistrates courts under his recently announced programme on the number of people employed in magistrates courts.

Jonathan Djanogly: The proposals on the court estate are currently out to public consultation and until responses to the consultation have been considered in full, no decision on court closures will be taken. As it is not known whether and which courts will close, no assessment has been made of the effect on staffing numbers. Implementation planning will only occur once decisions have been taken and staff redeployment will form part of that planning. My Department will continue to discuss the proposals with staff and with the trade unions.

Offences Against Children

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements in identifying and assessing sex offenders who commit sexual crimes against children overseas.

Crispin Blunt: Following identification, offenders who reside in England and Wales and who commit crimes against children overseas are brought into the Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). These offenders may be identified by:
	a notification from the country where they have been convicted of sexual offences against children; or
	inquiries made by the United Kingdom Central Authority (UKCA); or
	a self declaration by the offender on return to the UK.
	Once an offender has been identified as having committed a relevant offence abroad, a certified copy of conviction will be obtained from the court of the country where the offence took place. Police will complete a Notification Order (NO) and place this before the magistrates court which will sanction the correct period for which the offender will be subject to the notification requirements, in accordance with section 97 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
	Under the notification requirements the offender must provide:
	name, address, date of birth and national insurance number;
	a set of fingerprints;
	photographs of face and any other identifying features such as tattoos;
	give details that will allow accurate risk assessment to be carried out (who they live with, or if they have access to children);
	notification of foreign travel; and
	any changes to the name or address within three days of the change.
	Police may apply to the court for a NO in relation to offenders living in, or intending to come to, the United Kingdom.
	The penalty for breach of a notification requirement is up to five years' imprisonment.
	Becoming subject to the notification requirements brings the offender into MAPPA. Within MAPPA, information about the offender will be shared between relevant agencies in order to assess and then manage the risk presented by the offender. It is in the interests of public protection that the relevant agencies are required to work together within a statutory framework to assess and manage the risks presented by offenders who have committed sexual offences against children, either overseas or in the United Kingdom.
	Where it is considered necessary to protect children from the risk of future sexual harm, the police may apply to the court for a Foreign Travel Order (FTO) Where granted by the court, this order prevents offenders with convictions for sexual offences against children from travelling abroad. The penalty for breach of a FTO is up to five years' imprisonment.

Prison Sentences: Drugs

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many persons were sentenced for offences related to dealing in  (a) ketamine and  (b) other class C drugs in each of the last three years; what proportion of such persons given a custodial sentence served (i) the whole sentence, (ii) more than half the sentence and (iii) less than half the sentence; and what assessment he has made of the effect of sentencing policy on trends in dealing in such substances.

Crispin Blunt: The available information has been provided in the following tables.
	The most recent three years for which data are available is 2006-08. Data for 2009 will become available when "Sentencing Statistics 2009" is published later in the year.
	Sentencing is a matter for the courts, taking account of the circumstances of each case. The maximum penalty for dealing in class C drugs is 14 years' imprisonment and the sentences imposed show that the courts have sufficient powers to deal with this offence. All sentences are served in full.
	
		
			  Offenders sentenced for dealing( 1)  in ketamine and other class C drugs( 2) , 2006-08 
			   2006  2007  2008 
			  Ketamine
			 Discharge 0 0 0 
			 Fine 1 3 1 
			 Community sentence 1 4 11 
			 Suspended sentence 1 0 1 
			 Immediate custody 1 0 3 
			 Otherwise dealt with 0 0 1 
			 Total sentenced 4 7 17 
			 
			  Other class C
			 Discharge 83 61 50 
			 Fine 75 92 85 
			 Community sentence 712 685 838 
			 Suspended sentence 486 674 816 
			 Immediate custody 678 686 756 
			 Otherwise dealt with 21 50 25 
			 Total sentenced 2,055 2,248 2,570 
		
	
	
		
			  Lengths of custodial sentences handed down for dealing( 1)  in ketamine and other class C drugs( 2) , 2006-08 
			   2006  2007  2008 
			  Ketamine
			 Up to three months 0 0 0 
			 Over 3 up to 6 1 0 0 
			 Over 6 up to 12 0 0 0 
			 12 months 0 0 0 
			 Over 12 up to 18 0 0 1 
			 Over 18 up to 3 years 0 0 1 
			 Over 3 less than 4 0 0 0 
			 4 years 0 0 1 
			 Over 4 including 5 0 0 0 
			 Over 5 up to 10 years 0 0 0 
			 Over 10 less than life 0 0 0 
			 
			  Other class C
			 Up to three months 49 52 53 
			 Over 3 up to 6 months 147 132 142 
			 Over 6 up to 12 months 128 140 151 
			 12 months 94 98 101 
			 Over 12 up to 13 months 108 116 147 
			 Over 18 months up to 3 years 110 118 111 
			 Over 3 less than 4 years 13 5 14 
			 4 years 8 9 4 
			 Over 4 including 5 years 6 4 14 
			 Over 5 up to 10 years 15 12 16 
			 Over 10 years less than indeterminate 0 0 3 
			 (1 )Includes supply or offering to supply and possession with intent to supply. (2) Includes GHB, anabolic steroids and cannabis (where classified by the sentencing court as a class C offence).  Notes: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. These data have been taken from the Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings database. These data are presented on the principal offence basis. Where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence the principal offence is the one for which the heaviest sentence was imposed. Where the same sentence has been imposed for two or more offences the principal offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe. Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April. July, and August 2008.  Source: Justice Statistics-Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice

Sark: Politics and Government

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to have Sark recognised as an independent state by the United Nations; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice is not taking any steps to have Sark recognised as an independent state by the United Nations.

Unpaid Fines: Staffordshire

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many court fines of what total monetary value were outstanding in Staffordshire on 31 March 2010.

Jonathan Djanogly: The total number of fine accounts outstanding in Staffordshire as at 31 March 2010 was 23,525. These accounts had a total value outstanding of £11,214,527. Within the 2009-10 financial year £6,663,844 was collected in financial penalties in the Staffordshire area.

Unpaid Fines: Staffordshire

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many fines of what total monetary value were written off by HM Courts Service in Staffordshire in  (a) 2007-08,  (b) 2008-09 and  (c) 2009-10.

Jonathan Djanogly: The value of financial penalties written off by HMCS in the previous three years is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Total imposed  Administratively cancelled  Legally cancelled  Total cancelled 
			 2007-08 8,766,857 747,836 789,325 1,537,161 
			 2008-09 8,698,559 1,039,354 1,193,997 2,233,351 
			 2009-10 8,136,476 683,639 1,126,981 1,810,620 
		
	
	HMCS systems do not identify the number of accounts that have been written off only the value. The number of accounts could be provided only at disproportionate cost as this would require a manual search of all fine accounts for the past three years to identify how many had been written off.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts: Employment

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what his most recent estimate is of the change in the number of people employed in the arts sector since the beginning of the recession.

Edward Vaizey: No recent estimates have been made as to the number of people employed in the arts sector.

Digital Broadcasting: Radio

Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will estimate the average cost per household, including vehicle ownership, of upgrading radio equipment in preparation for the proposed changeover from analogue to digital radio in  (a) the UK,  (b) London and  (c) Ealing Central and Acton constituency.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 14 July 2010
	The Government have not previously made an estimate of the average costs per household of a digital radio switchover.
	On 8 July I announced the Digital Radio Action Plan, which outlines the information the Government will need in order to make a well-informed decision on whether to proceed with a radio switchover. A key aspect of the plan will include a detailed impact assessment of the proposed costs, including household and vehicle conversion, and benefits of a digital radio switchover programme.

Mass Media: Reviews

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the terms of reference are of the Shott review of local media ownership rules; and how much will be spent on the review.

Edward Vaizey: Nicholas Shott has been asked to set out how the Government can maximise the potential for local television to emerge in the UK and have a clear view of the value for delivering local TV from the point of potential investors.
	This may include:
	the conditions necessary to make local television commercially viable;
	the scope of revenue opportunities from advertising or other sources;
	which barriers should be reformed/removed to nurture a new generation of profitable local media companies; and
	how existing industry players might help achieve this.
	Mr Shott is undertaking this work pro bono.
	I am arranging for a copy of the letter setting out the above terms to be placed in the Library of the House.

Music: Finance

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 21 June 2010,  Official Report, columns 16-17W, on music, what the 14 community music rehearsal spaces are; how much funding his Department plans to allocate to them; and over what period that funding will be allocated.

Edward Vaizey: The spaces included in this scheme will be in Liverpool, Bristol (two spaces), Cornwall, Manchester, North and West Norfolk, Washington, Hastings, Coventry, Nottingham, Birmingham (two spaces), and Rotherham.
	Grants totalling £440,064 were made to the relevant local authorities to assist with their establishment over the two financial years ending March 2010.
	Only three of the spaces (Liverpool, Bristol and Cornwall) are currently open, with the rest due to come on stream before the end of this year.

TRANSPORT

Airports: Security

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport at which airports in the UK body scanners are used; what plans he has for their use in the future at those and other airports; and if he will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: Security scanners are currently installed at Heathrow, Manchester and Gatwick airports.
	A public consultation on a code of practice for the use of security scanners at UK airports was launched on 29 March, and the closing date has been extended to 19 July to give plenty of time for all interested parties to respond. We will consider all the responses to the consultation carefully before making decisions about how security scanners should be deployed in future.

Bus Services: Concessions

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has carried out an analysis of reductions in expenditure from reduced usage of national concessionary bus passes.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport routinely carries out a range of analysis on various scenarios relating to transport expenditure, including that on concessionary fares. The Department is not projecting a reduction in the number of trips that individual concessionaries make with their national bus passes.

Coventry-Nuneaton Railway Line

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he plans to take in support of the NUCKLE project in the West Midlands.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 17 June 2010
	 The Government's key priority at present is to tackle the budget deficit. In his written ministerial statement to the House on 10 June 2010,  Official Report, column 35WS, "Transport: Local Authority Major Schemes", the Secretary of State for Transport made clear that the Department for Transport will not be in a position to identify which major investments might be supported, including the Coventry-Nuneaton project, until the Government's spending review is concluded in the autumn.

Departmental Buildings

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on office refurbishment in each year since 1997.

Norman Baker: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Conferences

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the expenditure by his Department and its predecessors on  (a) organising and  (b) attending conferences in each year since 1997.

Norman Baker: The information requested is not available centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on televisions in each year since 1997.

Norman Baker: The breakdown requested is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Legal Costs

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on legal advice in each year since 1997.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport was formed in May 2002 and comprises seven agencies as well as sponsoring 10 Executive and advisory non-departmental public bodies. It would not be possible to obtain the information required without incurring a disproportionate cost

Departmental Training

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on employee away days in each year since 1997.

Norman Baker: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost due to this information not being held centrally.

Departmental Visual Arts

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on works of art since 2005.

Norman Baker: Between 2005 and 12 May 2010 the Department for Transport spent £2,472.22 on works of art. This included the purchase of prints, posters and associated equipment such as frames.
	
		
			  Department for Transport spend on works of art since 2005 
			  £ 
			  Artwork/posters  Location  Cost  Total cost 
			  2005-06
			 7 prints(1) and frames Rail Accident Investigation Branch 300.00 300.00 
			 
			  2008-09
			 3 framed posters DfT-Ministerial Suite 93.69 each 774.75 
			 1 framed poster DfT-Ministerial Suite 131.75 131.75 
			 3 frames DfT-Ministerial Suite 85 each 255.10 
			 
			  2009-10
			 1 transport poster(1) Not framed yet 2.89 2.89 
			 1 transport poster(1) Not framed yet 7.78 7.78 
			 1 transport poster(1) Not framed yet 9.74 9.74 
			 1 transport poster(1) Not framed yet 26.48 26.48 
			 The following three posters:(1) Imperial Airways -Flying Boat-poster Early Electric Car Advertisement for Babcock Electric Victoria Phaeton, c.1907 Cunard Line, RMS, Aquitania - - 165.95 
			 Framework cost for these prints DfT-Ministerial Suite - 373.80 
			 Frames for posters DfT-Ministerial Suite - 39.98 
			 Posters and frames for PC office DfT-Ministerial Suite - 384.00 
			2,472.22 
			 (1) These are unlimited prints. 
		
	
	No works of art have been purchased since 12 May 2010. The Department now has a policy of obtaining works of art only from the Government Art Collection at no cost to the public purse.

Government Car and Despatch Agency

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many leased cars the Government Car and Despatch Agency has returned since 6 May 2010.

Michael Penning: The Government Car and Despatch Agency has returned two leased cars since 6 May 2010.

Hucknall Inner Relief Road

Mark Spencer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for the future funding of the Hucknall Inner Relief Road.

Norman Baker: In his written ministerial statement on 10 June 2010,  Official  Report, column 35WS, regarding local authority major schemes, the Secretary of State for Transport made it clear that the Department will not be able to identify those major investments that can be supported until the conclusion of the Government's spending review in the autumn.
	Therefore at this time I cannot provide any assurances on funding for the Hucknall Inner Relief Road scheme.

Railways: Fares

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will bring forward proposals to reduce passenger fares through changes to franchise agreements with train operating companies;
	(2)  if he will instruct the Office for Rail Regulation to undertake a review of the affordability of  (a) walk-on fares and  (b) advanced purchase national rail fares.

Theresa Villiers: The Government have pledged to put fairness at the heart of their approach to rail fares. The level of rail fares will be considered as part of the overall spending review that the Government are conducting. The Rail Value for Money Study, jointly sponsored by the Office of Rail Regulation (being carried out by Sir Roy McNulty), and the Association of Train Operating Companies' review of fares are expected to provide valuable input going forward in the medium term.

Speed Limits: Urban Areas

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish each representation he has received on his policy on the speed limit in urban areas.

Michael Penning: The Department for Transport has received no representations relating to the urban speed limit. All speed limits are kept under constant review to ensure they remain appropriate. There are no current plans to change the default urban 30 mph speed limit. To do so would have significant resource implications and place additional burdens on local authorities. Local authorities already have the power to implement 20 mph limits and zones where they decide it is appropriate.

WALES

Departmental Buildings

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much her Department spent on office refurbishment in each year since 1997.

David Jones: The Wales Office was established in July 1999, and there were no refurbishments prior to 2007-08.
	In 2007-08 the Office spent £63,500 on a refurbishment project to replace carpets, furniture and curtains, including bomb blast curtains.
	In 2008-09 there was no expenditure on refurbishment.
	In 2009-10 £8,186 was spent on new furniture for office desks and to provide a dedicated video conference facility which links the London and Cardiff offices.

Departmental Legal Costs

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much her Department spent on legal advice in each year since 1997.

David Jones: The Wales Office was established in July 1999. Records show that the Wales Office has spent the following amounts on external legal advice, all of which has come from the Treasury Solicitor.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2001-02 5,509.50 
			 2002-03 4,765.00 
			 2003-04 909.00 
			 2004-05 7,103.19 
			 2005-06 2,140.40 
			 2006-07 9,275.00 
			 2007-08 4,850.25 
			 2008-09 3,067.90 
			 2009-10 43,677.58 
		
	
	Records for the period before 2001-02 are not held in the Wales Office.

Departmental Official Cars

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what her estimate is of the mileage travelled by each Minister in her Department in a Government car in  (a) May and  (b) June 2010.

David Jones: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mike Penning) on 13 July 2010,  Official Report, column 624W.

Fabian Plant: Closures

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if she will hold discussions with the Linamar Corporation over the proposed closure of its plant at Fabian Way near Swansea; and if she will make a statement.

David Jones: The Secretary of State has already spoken with management at Linamar and with the hon. Member himself to express concern at the proposed closure of the factory and to ensure that continued updates are given to my office.
	Jobcentre Plus will also offer a Rapid Response Service to the workers at Linamar to ensure they receive all the help and support that they need. I understand as well that Careers Wales have already visited the plant to make workers there aware of ReAct funding.

Housing Revenue Accounts

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much has been returned to the Exchequer in payments via the housing revenue account subsidy scheme by local authorities in Wales in each financial year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply.
	Figures since 1997 are not separately identified in the Treasury's Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses. The Welsh housing revenue account surplus in 2008-09 was £91 million.

HOME DEPARTMENT

British Crime Survey

Alan Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with the UK Statistics Authority on the accuracy of results from the British Crime Survey; and what the outcomes of those discussions were;
	(2)  when she expects her Department to publish the outcomes of its review of the British Crime Survey.

Theresa May: holding answer 12 July 2010
	I met with Sir Michael Scholar, chair of the UK Statistics Authority, on Wednesday 7 July to discuss the recommendations contained within the authority's recent report, 'Overcoming Barriers to Trust in Crime Statistics'.
	We had a wide-ranging discussion about crime statistics and I am considering the recommendations in the UK Statistics Authority report including those relevant to the British Crime Survey. The Home Office will respond to the recommendations in due course.

Community Policing

Alan Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the future of neighbourhood policing.

Theresa May: holding answer 12 July 2010
	 The Government support neighbourhood policing and are committed to ensuring that all communities receive a high quality policing service that meets local priorities.
	The programme set out by the coalition explains our approach to policing, replacing bureaucratic accountability with democratic authority and ensuring police forces are better able to deal with the crime and antisocial behaviour that blights people's lives. This includes:
	directly elected individuals to make the police more accountable
	reducing bureaucracy that hinders the police, and introducing better technology
	publishing crime maps showing the public what is happening on their streets, and
	regular beat meetings allowing residents to hold the police to account.
	We will consider how neighbourhood policing-working with local government and other local partners-can take forward these aims.

Crime: Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department has taken to combat anti-Semitism since January 2010; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Government take attacks on the Jewish community very seriously. As part of the 2010 Victims Fund the Community Security Trust secured funding to improve the reporting of anti-Semitic attacks in London and Manchester. This will build on the successful project it ran in North London which was welcomed by the Jewish Community. The Association of Chief Police Officers National Community Tension Team coordinates a national operation to ensure security and reassure Jewish communities during high holy days.

Criminal Records: Vetting

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been prevented from taking up posts involving contact with vulnerable persons as a result of information disclosed in a Criminal Records Bureau check in each of the last 10 years; and how many of those were  (a) volunteers and  (b) applying for a paid position.

Lynne Featherstone: Independent research carried out between 2004 and 2009 demonstrates that the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) is continuing to make a difference to the protection of children and the vulnerable.
	Ultimately it is for the employer to decide, after full pre-employment checks in addition to a CRB check and making a balanced judgment on the basis of all the information available to them, as to whether an individual job applicant is suitable for a particular position. The CRB is not advised of the outcome of the recruiting decision and neither the CRB nor the Home Office has any influence over this decision.
	From the results of the independent research it is estimated that around 130,000 unsuitable people have been prevented from gaining access to children or the vulnerable, as a direct result of CRB checks in the past six years:
	20,000 in 2004 (out of 2.6 million checks)
	25,000 in 2005 (out of 2.7 million checks)
	15,000 in 2006 (out of 3.2 million checks)
	20,000 in 2007 (out of 3.3 million checks)
	18,000 in 2008 (out of 3.7 million checks)
	33,000 in 2009 (out of 4.2 million checks).
	These figures are not broken down by applications for positions working solely with children or vulnerable adults or by paid or voluntary positions.
	The Home Office is committed to reviewing the criminal records regime. The terms of reference for the review are currently under consideration and further announcements will be made in due course.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether equality impact assessments will be used in determining the areas of her Department's budget in respect of which spending will be reduced.

Theresa May: holding answer 13 July 2010
	My Department will ensure the relevant equality considerations are taken into account when assessing policy options in the context of its departmental savings, in compliance with our obligations under the gender, race and disability duties set out in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, the Race Relations Act 1976, and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many illegal migrants identified in the last 12 months, who initially entered the UK through the student visa system, had attained qualifications to the equivalent of National Qualifications Framework level 3 and above;
	(2)  how many illegal migrants identified in the last 12 months had initially entered the UK through the student visa system and had as their country of origin  (a) Japan,  (b) South Korea,  (c) Taiwan,  (d) Saudi Arabia,  (e) Brazil,  (f) Mexico,  (g) Turkey and  (h) Colombia;
	(3)  what proportion of illegal migrants entered the UK  (a) without any initial visa,  (b) through the visitor visa system and  (c) through the student visa system in each year since 2005; and what the country of origin of each was.

Damian Green: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost as it would require a manual check of individual case records.

Football Banning Orders

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many football banning orders have been issued under the Football (Disorder) Act 2000 in each year since 2005.

James Brokenshire: The data requested are gathered and reported in accordance with the period of a football season rather than calendar year. The following table provides the number of football banning orders imposed during each football season since 2005-06. Football banning order and football-related arrest statistics for 2009-10 season will be published later this year.
	
		
			  Football banning orders issued 
			  Football season  Number 
			 2005-06 995 
			 2006-07 644 
			 2007-08 1,048 
			 2008-09 956

Forensic Science: DNA

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the written ministerial statement of 22 February 2007,  Official Report, column 61WS, on the Forensic Science Service, when the Forensic Science Service plans to report to her Department on the use of low copy number DNA.

James Brokenshire: The Forensic Science Service has conducted its own independently led investigation into the circumstances of its use, between December 1999 and September 2005 of low copy number DNA. The report, by Mark Addison, was completed in May 2007. In April 2008, the Home Office sponsored its own review, led by Professor Brian Caddy, into the Science of Low Template DNA Analysis. Lastly the written ministerial statement of 22 February 2007,  Official Report, column 61WS, announced a review by the Association of Chief Police Officers into the cases in which the low copy DNA technique, used by the Forensic Science Service, had been employed.
	My predecessor asked the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Forensic Science Service to work together to produce a composite report. Discussions on some details are in their concluding stages, after which the report will be formally presented to the Department, and will be laid in the Libraries of the Houses.

Forensic Science: DNA

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the Forensic Science Service on their past use of low copy number DNA; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: Since taking office, I have had no discussions with the Forensic Science Service on their past use of low copy number DNA.

Forensic Science: DNA

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what  (a) representations she has received and  (b) research she has commissioned on the use of low copy number DNA by the Forensic Science Service; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: Since taking office, I have received no representations on the use of low copy number DNA by the Forensic Science Service, nor have I commissioned any research.

Forgery: Coinage

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were convicted for offences related to counterfeiting coins in each year since 1997.

James Brokenshire: Information provided by the Ministry of Justice on the number of persons found guilty for "Making counterfeit coin or note" under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 14, England and Wales 1997 to 2008 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.
	Court proceedings data for 2009 are planned for publication on 21 October 2010.
	
		
			  N umber of persons convicted at all courts for offences relating to counterfeiting coins in England and Wales, 1997 to 2008( 1,)( )( 2,)( )( 3,)( )( 4) 
			   Found guilty 
			 1997 14 
			 1998 17 
			 1999 18 
			 2000 19 
			 2001 15 
			 2002 11 
			 2003 6 
			 2004 11 
			 2005 14 
			 2006 13 
			 2007 30 
			 2008 13 
			 (1) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (3) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July, and August 2008.  (4) Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 S.14 Offence description: "Making counterfeit coin or note".   Source:  Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice.

Fraud: Credit Cards

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to reduce credit card fraud.

James Brokenshire: Figures published by the UK Cards Association in March this year show that credit card fraud fell by 28% to £404.3 million in 2009 from £609.9 million in 2008. The Home Office will continue to work with our partners in the industry and law enforcement who work in the field of technical improvements and intelligence gathering that are crucial to helping prevent credit card fraud.

Immigration

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she expects to reach a decision on the application for indefinite leave to remain submitted by Mrs Majeedan Begum from Edinburgh North and Leith constituency.

Damian Green: I cannot comment on individual cases and the UK Border Agency have written to the hon. Member on this matter on 25 June 2010.

Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which health organisations her Department plans to consult on the proposals on the cost of alcohol to be included in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office plans to consult with the following health organisations on the proposals on the cost of alcohol planned to be included in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill: the National Institute of Clinical Excellence, the British Medical Association, Alcohol Concern, the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Alcohol Health Alliance, the British Liver Trust, and local/regional representatives of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities.

Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the scope of the consultation on the proposals on the cost of alcohol to be included in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill.

James Brokenshire: The Secretary of State for the Home Department and Secretary of State for Health have ongoing discussions on policy development and specifically the alcohol proposals to be included in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill. Officials from both Departments continue to work together to develop and take forward these new measures.

Prosecutions: Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions of  (a) men and  (b) women in each age group under the Malicious Communications Act 1988 there have been in each police force area in each of the last five years; how many of those prosecutions related to anti-Semitic material; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The number of defendants proceeded against for offences under the Malicious Communications Act 1988, by gender, age group and police force area, England and Wales 2004 to 2008 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table. The Ministry of Justice does not centrally hold information that identifies the circumstances of an offence unless the offence is separately specified in law; therefore it is not possible to identify those cases involving the dissemination of anti-Semitic material. Court proceedings data for 2009 are planned for publication on 21 October 2010.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against under the Malicious Communications Act, by gender, age group, and police force area, England and Wales 2004 to 2008( 1,2,3) 
			2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			  Police force area  Age group  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female 
			 Avon and Somerset 10 to 17 - - - 1 2 2 1 1 - 1 
			  18 and over - 1 5 - 6 2 8 4 16 2 
			  Total - 1 5 1 8 4 9 5 16 3 
			 
			 Bedfordshire 10 to 17 - - - - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over 3 - - - - - - - 2 1 
			  Total 3 - - - - - - - 2 1 
			 
			 Cambridgeshire 10 to 17 - - - - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over - - - - 2 1 1 1 1 - 
			  Total - - - - 2 1 1 1 1 - 
			 
			 Cheshire 10 to 17 - - - - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over - - 1 - 3 2 4 - 5 1 
			  Total - - 1 - 3 2 4 - 5 1 
			 
			 City of London 10 to 17 - - - - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over - - - - - - 1 - 2 - 
			  Total - - - - - - 1 - 2 - 
			 
			 Cleveland 10 to 17 - - - - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over 2 - 1 - 2 - - - - 1 
			  Total 2 - 1 - 2 - - - - 1 
			 
			 Cumbria 10 to 17 - - - - - - 1 - 1 1 
			  18 and over 2 - 1 2 4 - 2 1 3 1 
			  Total 2 - 1 2 4 - 3 1 4 2 
			 
			 Derbyshire 10 to 17 - - - - - 1 - - - - 
			  18 and over - - 1 - 2 - 6 1 5 1 
			  Total - - 1 - 2 1 6 1 5 1 
			 
			 Devon and Cornwall 10 to 17 - - 1 1 2 - 2 1 - - 
			  18 and over 3 3 1 3 5 - 9 1 5 1 
			  Total 3 3 2 4 7 - 11 2 5 1 
			 
			 Dorset 10 to 17 - - - - - - 1 - - - 
			  18 and over - - - 1 - - - - 3 2 
			  Total - - - 1 - - 2 - 3 2 
			 
			 Durham 10 to 17 - - - - - - 1 - - - 
			  18 and over - - - - 1 - 3 1 4 - 
			  Total - - - - 1 - 3 1 4 - 
			 
			 Essex 10 to 17 - - - - 1 - - - 2 - 
			  18 and over 1 - 4 - 7 - 2 2 6 - 
			  Total 1 - 4 - 8 - 2 2 8 - 
			 
			 Gloucestershire 10 to 17 - - - - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 
			  Total 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 
			 
			 Greater Manchester 10 to 17 - - 1 - 1 - 1 - - - 
			  18 and over 3 - 3 1 7 2 7 2 5 2 
			  Total 3 - 4 1 8 2 8 2 5 2 
			 
			 Hampshire 10 to 17 - 1 - - 1 - 1 - 1 1 
			  18 and over 3 - 1 1 2 - 7 - 9 1 
			  Total 3 1 1 1 3 - 8 - 10 2 
			 
			 Hertfordshire 10 to 17 - - 1 1 - - 4 - 1 1 
			  18 and over 1 - 3 - 10 1 9 3 16 4 
			  Total 1 - 4 1 10 1 13 3 17 5 
			 
			 Humberside 10 to 17 - - 1 - 1 - - - - - 
			  18 and over - - 5 - 3 - 4 - 3 1 
			  Total - - 6 - 4 - 4 - 3 1 
			 
			 Kent 10 to 17 - - 1 - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over 1 - 1 - - 1 2 - 3 1 
			  Total 1 - 2 - - 1 2 - 3 1 
			 
			 Lancashire 10 to 17 - - 1 - - - - - 1 1 
			  18 and over 2 - - - 2 - 6 1 9 - 
			  Total 2 - 1 - 2 - 6 1 10 1 
			 
			 Leicestershire 10 to 17 1 - - - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over 2 1 7 1 13 - 1 - 10 1 
			  Total 3 1 7 1 13 - 1 - 10 1 
			 
			 Lincolnshire 10 to 17 - - - - - 1 - - - - 
			  18 and over 1 - 1 - 5 3 4 1 4 - 
			  Total 1 - 1 - 5 4 4 1 4 - 
			 
			 Merseyside 10 to 17 - - - - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over - - - - - - 5 - 1 - 
			  Total - - - - - - 5 - 1 - 
			 
			 Metropolitan Police 10 to 17 2 - 1 1 - - 1 - 4 1 
			  18 and over 20 2 16 3 15 - 26 1 41 4 
			  Total 22 2 17 4 15 - 27 1 45 5 
			 
			 Norfolk 10 to 17 - - - - - - 1 - - - 
			  18 and over - - - - 3 - - - 1 1 
			  Total - - - - 3 - 1 - 1 1 
			 
			 North Yorkshire 10 to 17 - - - - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over - - - - - - 10 1 4 - 
			  Total - - - - - - 10 1 4 - 
			 
			 Northamptonshire 10 to 17 - - - - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over - 2 - - - - - - 1 1 
			  Total - 2 - - - - - - 1 1 
			 
			 Northumbria 10 to 17 - - - 1 - - 2 - 2 1 
			  18 and over 2 - 3 - 5 2 10 5 12 2 
			  Total 2 - 3 1 5 2 12 5 14 3 
			 
			 Nottinghamshire 10 to 17 - - - - 3 - - - - - 
			  18 and over 3 - 4 - 1 - 4 1 2 - 
			  Total 3 - 4 - 4 - 4 1 2 - 
			 
			 South Yorkshire 10 to 17 - - - - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over - - 2 - 1 - 3 - 1 - 
			  Total - - 2 - 1 - 3 - 1 - 
			 
			 Staffordshire 10 to 17 - - - - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over 3 1 4 - 3 - 3 - 8 - 
			  Total 3 1 4 - 3 - 3 - 8 - 
			 
			 Suffolk 10 to 17 - - 1 - - - 2 1 3 - 
			  18 and over 3 1 - 1 5 - 3 - 10 3 
			  Total 3 1 1 1 5 - 5 1 13 3 
			 
			 Surrey 10 to 17 - - - - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over 2 - - - 5 - 3 - 4 1 
			  Total 2 - - - 5 - 3 - 4 1 
			 
			 Sussex 10 to 17 - - - - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over - - - - - 1 1 2 6 1 
			  Total - - - - - 1 1 2 6 1 
			 
			 Thames Valley 10 to 17 - - - - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over 9 2 5 1 5 1 6 2 7 - 
			  Total 9 2 5 1 5 1 6 2 7 - 
			 
			 Warwickshire 10 to 17 - - - - - 1 - - 1 - 
			  18 and over - - - - 2 - 2 - 2 1 
			  Total - - - - 2 1 2 - 3 1 
			 
			 West Mercia 10 to 17 - - - - - - - - 1 - 
			  18 and over 3 1 4 1 - - 9 - 11 2 
			  Total 3 1 4 1 - - 9 - 12 2 
			 
			 West Midlands 10 to 17 - - 1 - - - 1 - 2 - 
			  18 and over 5 - 5 2 10 2 7 1 13 2 
			  Total 5 - 6 2 10 2 8 1 15 2 
			 
			 West Yorkshire 10 to 17 - - - - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over 1 - - 1 6 - 11 2 7 - 
			  Total 1 - - 1 6 - 11 2 7 - 
			 
			 Wiltshire 10 to 17 - - - - - - 1 - 1 - 
			  18 and over - 1 1 - - 1 5 - 2 - 
			  Total - 1 1 - - 1 6 - 3 - 
			 
			 Dyfed-Powys 10 to 17 - - - - - - 1 - 1 - 
			  18 and over - - 2 - 1 1 1 - 3 - 
			  Total - - 2 - 1 1 2 - 4 - 
			 
			 Gwent 10 to 17 - - - - - - 1 - 2 - 
			  18 and over - - 3 1 3 - 5 - 3 - 
			  Total - - 3 1 3 - 6 - 5 - 
			 
			 North Wales 10 to 17 - - - - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over 1 - 1 - 3 2 2 - 5 - 
			  Total 1 - 1 - 3 2 2 - 5 - 
			 
			 South Wales 10 to 17 1 - - - - - - - - - 
			  18 and over 1 1 1 1 1 - - - 3 1 
			  Total 2 1 1 1 1 - - - 3 1 
			 England and Wales 10 to 17 4 1 9 5 11 5 21 3 23 7 
			  18 and over 78 16 87 20 144 22 194 33 259 39 
			  Total 82 17 96 25 155 27 215 36 282 46 
			 (1) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July, and August 2008.  Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services in the Ministry of Justice

PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Responsibilities: Armed Forces

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Prime Minister if he will appoint a Minister within the Cabinet Office with overall responsibility for the welfare of current and former military personnel.

David Cameron: The Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, my hon. Friend the Member for South Leicestershire (Mr. Robathan) is responsible for these issues. The Government consider the welfare of current and former military personnel as extremely important. The Coalition's programme for government sets out a number of concrete measures aimed at rebuilding the Military Covenant. All Government Ministers must ensure that their Departments do everything they can to support current and former military personnel and their families.

Official Gifts

Pete Wishart: To ask the Prime Minister which gifts over a monetary value of £140 Ministers in the  (a) present and  (b) previous administration (i) gave and (ii) received in the last 12 months; and which such gifts have been retained by former Ministers on leaving office.

David Cameron: The Government have published an annual list of gifts received by Ministers in an official capacity valued at more than £140 since 2001. The list was expanded in 2007 to cover gifts given by Ministers. A list of gifts valued at more than £140 received and given by Ministers in the previous Administration will be published in due course. As set out in the Ministerial Code, gifts valued at more than £140 received and given by Ministers in the present Administration will be published by Departments on at least a quarterly basis.

Public Sector

Luciana Berger: To ask the Prime Minister to how many public sector workers he and the Deputy Prime Minister sent their recent e-mail.

David Cameron: The e-mail from the Deputy Prime Minister and me about the 'spending challenge' was distributed across the public sector. In a two-week period, public sector workers submitted over 63,000 ideas to the website set up for them to send suggestions to.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Office for Renewable Energy Development

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the merits of establishing the Office for Renewable Energy Development as a non-departmental public body.

Gregory Barker: Establishing the Office for Renewable Energy Deployment (ORED) as a non-departmental public body was considered as one of a range of options. It was decided that a co-ordinated approach to policy and deployment to develop low-carbon energy supplies could best be achieved by keeping ORED as a directorate within the Department of Energy and Climate Change alongside the Offices for Nuclear Development, (launched 2008) and the Office of Carbon Capture and Storage, (launched 2010).

Oil Rigs

Edward Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many drilling inspections are planned to be carried out each year in the future on North Sea oil rigs.

Charles Hendry: All drilling rigs operating in UK waters are subject to safety inspections by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and environmental inspection by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Offshore Environmental Inspectorate.
	The number of drilling rig operations being conducted on an annual basis is dependent on the level and scope of exploration and production activity by operators, currently there are 22 mobile drilling rigs operating in UK waters. The number of offshore inspections by regulatory authorities may, therefore, change on an annual basis in line with activity and the regulators inspection and investigation strategies.
	HSE have confirmed that their health and safety intervention plans propose at least one annual visit to every mobile drilling rig working in UK waters. DECC's Offshore Inspectorate undertake a series of prioritised environmental inspections to fixed installations and drilling rigs, subject to a risk based approach which takes into account operations being conducted. Over the past three years an annual average of nine drilling rig inspections have been undertaken and, subject to the above factors, it is DECC's intention to double this to a minimum of 18 drilling inspections annually, depending on the level of drilling activity taking place.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects to make an announcement on a feed-in tariff rate for biomethane injection into the grid.

Gregory Barker: The Government are committed to increasing the amount of renewable heat in the UK; this is a crucial part of ensuring we meet our renewables targets, cutting carbon and ensuring energy security. We are committed to introducing measures to promote a huge increase in energy from waste through anaerobic digestion. Central to this will be work to facilitate an increase in the number of anaerobic digestion facilities producing biomethane from waste, which can be injected into the grid.
	We are currently looking at the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) proposals. Clearly there are benefits to the scheme, but we must also consider the impact of the costs, particularly given the financial constraints we must work within and the potential impact that funding options could have on vulnerable people.
	We do want to provide certainty and clarity as quickly as possible but want to be sure that we are making the right decisions. We will look to make an announcement on the future of the proposed scheme as soon as possible.

Wind Power

Simon Reevell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many and what proportion of onshore wind turbine applications his Department has rejected in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: holding answer 13 July 2010
	 The information is as follows:
	In 2005, the SoS consented two onshore wind farm applications and refused none, representing a 0% refusal rate.
	Scout Moor (65 MW) Consented
	Little Cheyne Court (78 MW) Consented
	In 2006, the SoS made one decision on an onshore wind farm application. This was a refusal, representing a 100% refusal rate.
	Whinash (67.5 MW) Refused consent
	In 2007, the SoS consented one onshore wind farm and refused none, representing a 0% refusal rate.
	Fullabrook Down (66 MW) Consented
	During 2008, the SoS consented three onshore wind farms and refused none, representing a 0% refusal rate.
	Keadby (85 MW) Consented
	Tween Bridge (66 MW) Consented
	Middlemoor (75 MW) Consented
	In 2009, the SoS consented one onshore wind farm (jointly with the SoS for Communities and Local Government) and refused none, representing a 0% refusal rate.
	Lynemouth (16.1 MW) Consented
	To date in 2010, the SoS has made one decision on an onshore wind farm application. This was a refusal, representing a 100% refusal rate.
	Steadings (66 MW) Consent refused

WORK AND PENSIONS

Allergies: Lost Working Days

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of working days lost due to allergies in the UK.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	A copy of their response will be placed in the Library of the House.

Disability Living Allowance

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people resident in  (a) Wansbeck constituency and  (b) the UK made an appeal against a decision regarding a claim for disability living allowance in each of the last five years; and how many such appeals were upheld in each such year.

Maria Miller: The information is not available on a constituency basis. The number of DLA appeals for the UK as a whole and the number of appeals upheld is in the following table:
	
		
			  DLA appeals  Total DLA appeals decisions heard by the Appeal Service  DLA appeals found in the customer's favour 
			 2005-06 69,000 34,000 
			 2006-07 63,000 30,000 
			 2007-08 57,000 26,000 
			 2008-09 53,000 23,000 
			 2009-10 51,000 21,000 
			  Notes: 1. Each year covers decisions recorded on the DLA computer system within the period of 1 April to 31 March. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand. 3. The figures do not include DLA Appeals made by customers in Northern Ireland and handled by the Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions-RDA60209, 60205 and 80123 reports-DLA Management Information Statistics. 
		
	
	Appeals found in the customer's favour are appeal decisions that have either varied the existing award, increased the existing award or allowed an award of DLA following a previously disallowed decision.

Housing Benefit

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many local housing allowance recipients in  (a) Bishop Auckland and  (b) Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency are receiving (i) over £400 per week for a four or five-bedroom property, (ii) over £340 per week for a three-bedroom property, (iii) over £290 for a two-bedroom property and (iv) over £200 for a one-bedroom property in 2010-11.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many local housing allowance recipients in West Lancashire constituency are receiving  (a) over £400 per week for a four or five bedroom property,  (b) over £340 per week for a three bedroom property,  (c) over £290 per week for a two bedroom property and  (d) over £200 per week for a one bedroom property.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many local housing allowance recipients in Stretford and Urmston constituency are receiving  (a) over £400 per week for a four or five-bedroom property,  (b) over £340 per week for a three-bedroom property and  (c) over £290 per week for a one-bedroom property.

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many local housing allowance recipients in Makerfield constituency are receiving  (a) over £400 per week for a four or five bedroom property,  (b) over £340 per week for a three bedroom property,  (c) over £290 per week for a two bedroom property and  (d) over £200 per week for a one bedroom property.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many local housing allowance recipients in Houghton and Sunderland South constituency are receiving  (a) over £400 per week for a four or five bedroom property,  (b) over £340 per week for a three bedroom property,  (c) over £290 per week for a two bedroom property and  (d) over £200 per week for a one bedroom property.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many local housing allowance recipients in Worsley and Eccles South constituency are receiving  (a) over £400 per week for a four or five bedroom property,  (b) over £340 per week for a three bedroom property,  (c) over £290 per week for a two bedroom property and  (d) over £200 per week for a one bedroom property.

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many local housing allowance recipients in  (a) Glasgow North and  (b) Ealing Central and Acton constituency are receiving (i) over £400 per week for a four or five bedroom property, (ii) over £340 per week for a three bedroom property, (iii) over £290 per week for a two bedroom property and (iv) over £200 per week for a one bedroom property.

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many local housing allowance recipients in  (a) Slough,  (b) Salisbury and  (c) Scarborough and Whitby constituency are receiving (i) over £400 per week for a four or five bedroom property, (ii) over £340 per week for a three bedroom property, (iii) over £290 per week for a two bedroom property and (iv) over £200 per week for a one bedroom property.

Steve Webb: The information is not available at the constituency level.
	An exercise is being undertaken to add other geographical areas to the housing benefit data: this will include parliamentary constituencies. It is hoped this exercise will be completed by early 2011.

Housing Benefit: Greater London

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many London residents claimed  (a) housing benefit and  (b) housing benefit in excess of £100,000 in each of the last five years.

Steve Webb: Information available on receipt of housing benefit in London over the last five years comes from two different data sources and is shown in the following two tables.
	
		
			  Housing benefit caseload in the London GOR, at each date shown 
			   Number 
			 November 2008 712,010 
			 August 2009 758,260 
			 March 2010 792,890 
			  Notes:  1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.  2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.  3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated.  4. Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE) is a monthly electronic scan of claimant level data direct from local authority computer systems. It replaces quarterly aggregate clerical returns. The data are available monthly from November 2008, and March 2010 are the most recent available.  5. Data from SHBE incorporate the local authority changes from 1 April 2009.   Source:  Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE). 
		
	
	
		
			  Housing benefit caseload in the London GOR, at each date shown 
			  As at August east year  Number 
			 2005 686,160 
			 2006 689,680 
			 2007 698,340 
			  Notes:  1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.  2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.  3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated.   Source:  Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 5% sample taken in August 2005-August 2007. 
		
	
	The information is published at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/hbctb.asp
	We do not have information on annual payments to individual housing benefit recipients. We do hold information on customers' weekly housing benefit awards and weekly local housing allowance rates which can be used to make inferences about potential annual awards.
	The latest information the Department holds is for March 2010, when the maximum local housing allowance rate was £1,800, and shows that there were customers who received this rate. All these customers would be located in the Central London Broad Rental Market Area.
	In June 2010 the maximum local housing allowance rate rose to £2,000 a week which would be equivalent to "receiving housing benefit in excess of £100,000 a year, assuming the individual remains in receipt of the same level of benefit for 52 continuous weeks. Information on housing benefit awards in June will be available in September 2010.

Housing Benefit: Hampstead

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many of those resident in Hampstead and Kilburn constituency in receipt of housing benefit are in  (a) local authority,  (b) housing association and  (c) private sector housing;
	(2)  how many of those resident in Hampstead and Kilburn constituency and in receipt of housing benefit are  (a) pensioners and  (b) of working age and (i) in employment and (ii) not in employment.

Steve Webb: The information is not available at the constituency level.
	The available information on housing benefit recipients is published at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/hb_ctb/hbctb_release_jun10.xls
	An exercise is being undertaken to add other geographical areas to the housing benefit data: this will include parliamentary constituencies. It is hoped this exercise will be completed by early 2011.

Housing Benefit: Worcestershire

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals resident in West Worcestershire are in receipt of housing benefit  (a) in total,  (b) of over £280 per week for a one bedroom property and  (c) of over £400 per week for a four bedroom property or larger.

Steve Webb: The information is not available at the constituency level.
	The available information on housing benefit recipients is published at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/hb_ctb/hbctb_release_jun10.xls
	An exercise is being undertaken to add other geographical areas to the housing benefit data: this will include parliamentary constituencies. It is hoped this exercise will be completed by early 2011.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Lone Parents

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of lone parents in receipt of jobseeker's allowance in Mid Sussex constituency.

Chris Grayling: In May 2010 there were 35 lone parents claiming jobseeker's allowance in Mid Sussex.
	The figure has been rounded to the nearest five.

Pensioners: West Sussex

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Mid Sussex constituency receive  (a) the basic state pension and  (b) pension credit.

Steve Webb: The information available is in the table.
	
		
			  Parliamentary constituency: Mid Sussex  Number 
			 State pension recipients 20,690 
			 Pension credit individual beneficiaries 3,110 
			 Pension credit household recipients 2,700 
			  Notes: 1. Case load figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. State pension figures are for the total state pension caseload. Around 1% of state pension recipients are not in receipt of the basic state pension, but are receiving additional state pension only or graduated retirement benefit only. 3. Basic state pension only figures are not available by current 2010 parliamentary constituencies. 4. Pension credit household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves or on behalf of themselves and a partner. Individual beneficiaries are the number of claimants in addition to the number of partners for whom they are claiming. 5. Parliamentary constituencies are for the Westminster Parliament of May 2010.  Source: DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100% data as at November 2009

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are in receipt  of (a) disability living allowance,  (b) incapacity benefit and  (c) employment and support allowance in Mid Sussex constituency.

Chris Grayling: The information is provided as follows:
	
		
			  Employment support allowance, incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance, and disability living allowance claimants in Mid Sussex constituency: November 2009 
			  Parliamentary constituency: Mid Sussex  Number 
			 ESA 390 
			 IB/SDA 1,870 
			 DLA 2,800 
			  Notes: 1. Incapacity benefit was replaced by employment support allowance (ESA) from October 2008. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10, some additional disclosure has been applied. 3. Case load for DLA show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital. 4. Constituencies used are for the Westminster Parliament of May 2010. 5. IB/SDA 'Claimants' include people in receipt of benefit and also those who fail the contributions conditions but receive a national insurance credit, ie 'credits only cases'.  Source: DWP Information Directorate 100% Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Social Security Benefits: Motherwell

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of the working age population of Motherwell and Wishaw constituency are in receipt of  (a) jobseeker's allowance,  (b) unemployment allowance,  (c) carer's allowance,  (d) disability living allowance,  (e) widow's and/or bereavement benefit and  (f) other income support.

Chris Grayling: The information is provided in statistical groups
	
		
			  Claimants of working age in the parliamentary constituency of Motherwell and Wishaw, as a percentage of the working age population, November 2009 
			   Motherwell and Wishaw  Percentage of working age population 
			 Total 13,190 24.3 
			 Job seeker 3,230 6 
			 Employment and support allowance and incapacity benefit 6,480 11.9 
			 Lone parent 1,360 2.5 
			 Carer 870 1.6 
			 Others on income related benefit 390 0.7 
			 Disabled 710 1.3 
			 Bereaved 160 0.3 
			  Notes:  1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Totals may not sum due to rounding.  2. Statistical groups are defined as follows:  (a) Jobseeker-jobseeker's allowance.  (b) Employment and support allowance and incapacity benefit-employment and support allowance, incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance. Employment and support allowance replaced incapacity benefit and income support paid on the grounds of incapacity for new claims from 27 October 2008.  (c) Lone parent-income support with a child under 16 and no partner. Lone parent obligations were introduced from 24 November 2008 affecting the age of the youngest child. Further details available at: http://83.244.183.180/100pc/wa/tabtool_wa.html  (d) Carer-carer's allowance.  (e) Others on income related benefits-others on income support (paid on the grounds of incapacity and including the disability premium) or pension credit.  (f) Disabled-disability living allowance, attendance allowance or industrial injuries benefit.  (g) Bereaved-widow's benefit, bereavement benefit or industrial death benefit.  3. Figures for attendance allowance and disability living allowance represented in the disabled group and carer's allowance represented in the carers group include those cases with entitlement but where payment is currently suspended.  4. The constituency is as per Westminster Parliament of May 2005.  5. Statistical Group is a hierarchical variable. A person who fits into more than one category will only appear in the top-most one for which they are eligible. More detail available at: http://83.244.183.180/100pc/wa/tabtool_wa.html  6. Population estimates are taken from mid 2008 figures. 'Working age' is defined as males aged over 16 and under 65 and females aged over 16 and under 60.  Source:  Work and Pensions Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Social Security Benefits: Uprating

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has made an assessment of the effects on  (a) men and  (b) women of uprating benefits in line with the consumer prices index.

Justine Greening: I have been asked to reply.
	Analysis of the impact of Budget measures is undertaken at the household level. Benefits and tax credits are awarded based on family income. There is significant variation in the way that households allocate their resources, and interactions between the tax and benefit system are complex. For these reasons any gender analysis based on a single set of assumptions would not be robust.
	The above-indexation increases to the child tax credit announced at Budget will help support low-income families with children, and the Government will continue to work to eliminate unlawful discrimination and promote equality of opportunity.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Research

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research projects on public attitudes to the use of pesticides her Department has funded since 1997; what the  (a) research topic,  (b) start date,  (c) cost and  (d) project code was of each such project; who the main contractor was in each case; and which such projects have been completed to date.

Richard Benyon: The 1996-97 survey of public attitudes to the environment for England and Wales included two questions on pesticides. The work was carried out by MORI, fieldwork was carried out between November 1996 and January 1997 and the report was published in September 1998. The Survey of public attitudes to quality of life and to the environment 2001 included three questions on pesticides. The work was carried out by the Office for National Statistics, fieldwork was carried out between January and April 2001 and the report was published in October 2002.
	The results of these surveys are available on the DEFRA website at:
	www.defra.gov.uk/evidence/statistics/environment/pubatt/index.htm
	No cost can be meaningfully ascribed to the pesticides questions within these surveys as these questions made up only a small part of the surveys. No questions on pesticides were included in the 2007 or 2009 attitude surveys.
	Project PS2302 on the "acceptability of pesticide effects on non-target species" had scheduled start and completion dates of 1 November 2002 and 31 October 2004 respectively. The cost was £143,750 and the main contractor was Crane Consultants. The report can be found at:
	http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu& Module=More&Location=None&ProjectID=11761&FromSearch =Y&Publisher=1&SearchText=PS2302&SortString=ProjectCode&Sort Order=Asc&Paging=10#Description

Bees

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent research her Department has carried out on the effects of neonicotinoids on the honey bee population.

James Paice: As part of its pesticides research programme the Government fund a number of projects in support of the development of the pesticides risk assessment process. A number of these relate specifically to the potential impact of pesticides on honeybees, both from the wide scale professional use and home-garden use of insecticides. These projects were completed last year and final reports have been published. Previous work on the risk posed to honeybees by systemic insecticides, such as imidacloprid, has fed into the international risk assessment models for honeybees due to be adopted later this year by the European Plant Protection Office.
	The rigorous EU scientific process for approval of pesticide active substances and the supporting national processes for individual products protect human health and the environment, including wildlife, provided products are used in accordance with the approval and any related conditions. This approval process takes account of the potential impact on bees. The Government will, of course, act immediately on any concrete evidence of adverse impacts of pesticides on bees in the UK.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent research her Department has commissioned on the  (a) possible links between badgers and bovine tuberculosis and  (b) possible preventative measures; and what the results of such research have been.

James Paice: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The largest single piece of research on badgers and bovine TB is the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT), carried out by the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB. The ISG's final report, published in 2007, explicitly states that badgers contribute significantly to the disease in cattle.
	 (b) The RBCT examined the impact of two different badger culling strategies on TB incidence in cattle. Results showed that annual proactive culling was associated with a 23% reduction in TB incidence in cattle herds in culled areas, but a 25% increase in TB incidence in herds in the surrounding 2 km un-culled ring. The increase in surrounding areas is thought to be due to changes in badger behaviour following social disturbance brought about by culling-the "perturbation effect". Since the end of the RBCT, regular monitoring of TB incidence has shown continued benefits of culling on TB incidence in proactively culled areas for at least 3.5 years after culling. A beneficial effect was also observed in the 2 km ring surrounding culled areas for 2.5 years immediately after culling stopped. Reactive, localised culling was stopped by Ministers in November 2003 as early interim results from the reactively culled areas showed an increase of 18.9% new confirmed TB cattle herd incidents when compared with survey-only areas.
	DEFRA has been funding research into badger vaccines since 1998. An injectable badger vaccine has been shown to be both safe and effective in experimental studies and is now licensed for use. Research continues into an oral badger vaccine. Modelling work to help us understand the effect of vaccination, in isolation and in combination with culling, is ongoing.
	In 2005, DEFRA commissioned a project to examine the effectiveness of biosecurity measures to prevent badger visits to farm buildings. This project finished in October 2009. It found that badger exclusion measures could, if properly employed and maintained, prevent 100% of badger visits to farm buildings, but that compliance varied widely among farmers.
	Research into immunocontraception as a method of controlling badger numbers is being funded through programmes elsewhere in DEFRA. As the results will be relevant to TB control, DEFRA's TB Programme will review the findings of this study when they become available.

Departmental Private Roads

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the former Secretary of State's letters to the hon. Member for Ochil and South Perthshire dated 3 February and 19 April 2010, what progress has been made in discussions with the Scottish Executive on the maintenance burdens of access roads 5 and 6 in property owned by her Department in Almondbank, Perthshire.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA has proposed to Scottish Ministers that the roadway exclusively serving their retained land at Site 6 be formally transferred to the Scottish Government. Scottish Ministers have indicated a desire to explore the proposed transfer and are progressing their interest.

Domestic Waste: Recycling

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which 20 local authorities recycled the most domestic refuse in 2009.

Richard Benyon: The following table shows the 20 local authorities in England that sent the highest tonnage of household waste to be recycled, composted or reused between October 2008 and September 2009. This is the latest 12-month period for which published data is available.
	
		
			  Tonnes of h ousehold waste sent for recycling/composting/reuse, October 2008 to September 2009 
			  Local authority  Tonnes 
			 Birmingham City Council 137,885 
			 Leeds City Council Metropolitan Borough Council 100,347 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire Council 64,577 
			 Sheffield City Council 61,096 
			 Bradford City Metropolitan District Council (Metropolitan Borough Council) 60,529 
			 Wakefield City Metropolitan District Council 59,488 
			 Bristol City Council 59,018 
			 Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council 57,296 
			 Cornwall 56,394 
			 Cheshire East 54,933 
			 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council 53,461 
			 Wiltshire 52,819 
			 Bromley London Borough 51,438 
			 South Gloucestershire Council 51,075 
			 Bexley London Borough 50,655 
			 Milton Keynes Council 50,167 
			 Derby City Council 49,344 
			 County Durham 49,190 
			 Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council 48,525 
			 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council 48,456 
		
	
	The amount sent for recycling is affected by many factors, such as the size of the population in each local authority. The following table shows which 20 local authorities in England had the highest household recycling, composting and reuse rate as a percentage of all waste collected in the period October 2008 to September 2009.
	
		
			  Percentage of household waste sent for recycling/composting/reuse, October 2008 to September 2009) 
			  Local authority  Percentage 
			 Rochford District Council 64.08 
			 Cotswold District Council 62.93 
			 Staffordshire Moorlands District Council 61.72 
			 East Lindsey District Council 58.14 
			 South Hams District Council 57.85 
			 Teignbridge District Council 57.71 
			 Huntingdonshire District Council 56.29 
			 North Kesteven District Council 55.16 
			 Waveney District Council 54.23 
			 Ryedale District Council 54.09 
			 South Shropshire District Council 53.84 
			 Rutland County Council 53.66 
			 South Cambridgeshire District Council 53.62 
			 Rushcliffe Borough Council 53.53 
			 Stratford-on-Avon District Council 53.26 
			 Harborough District Council 53.19 
			 Central Bedfordshire 53.09 
			 Cheshire East 52.79 
			 Uttlesford District Council 52.46 
			 Shropshire 52.03 
			  Source: WasteDataFlow.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what projects on public attitudes to genetically-modified crops, food and feed her Department has funded since 1997; what the  (a) topic,  (b) start date,  (c) cost and  (d) project code was of each such project; who the main contractor was in each case; and which such projects have been completed to date.

James Paice: DEFRA part-funded the 'GM Nation' public debate that was planned and run by an independent steering board in 2002 and 2003. The board appointed the Central Office of Information as the prime contractor for the debate. The total cost was £562,000 of which DEFRA contributed £282,000. Other funding contributions were made by the former Department of Trade and Industry and the devolved Administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This was not a research project as such and therefore did not have a project code.
	DEFRA also funded a research project, code CB02023, on the willingness of consumers to pay to reduce or eliminate GM products or derivatives from the supply chain. The contract started in April 2003 and ended in January 2004; it was carried out by the University of Manchester at a cost of £94,550.

GM Inspectorate: Expenditure

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what expenditure her Department has incurred on the GM Inspectorate for England and Wales in each year since 1997.

James Paice: Official inspections are carried out to ensure that authorised trial releases of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) comply with the conditions specified in the statutory consent. The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) inspects GM crop trials and the Health and Safety Executive inspects GM vaccine trials, both on behalf of DEFRA. In addition, Fera will investigate and take action for DEFRA in relation to unauthorised releases of GMOs. Expenditure on this activity is given in the following table. Figures for earlier years are not readily available.
	The figures for Fera inspections up to 2004-05 reflect the large number of sites involved in the farm scale evaluation trials of GM herbicide-tolerant crops.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Expenditure on GM crop trial inspections and unauthorised GMO releases (Fera)  Expenditure on GM vaccine trial inspections (HSE) 
			 2002-03 223,234 0 
			 2003-04 189,280 3,520 
			 2004-05 135,641 0 
			 2005-06 34,820 0 
			 2006-07 22,273 676 
			 2007-08 9,480 0 
			 2008-09 29,753 800 
			 2009-10 21,038 5,921

Inland Waterways: Dredging

David Heyes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what statutory navigations operated by  (a) British Waterways canals and  (b) the Environment Agency are closed to navigation pending dredging.

Richard Benyon: British Waterways and the Environment Agency currently have no statutory navigations closed pending dredging.

Inland Waterways: Dredging

David Heyes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans for dredging  (a) British Waterways and  (b) the Environment Agency has for 2010-11.

Richard Benyon: British Waterways currently has plans to dredge between 30 kilometres (km) and 40 km of its waterways during 2010-11. This will take place at 18 locations, at an estimated cost of £4.5 million.
	The Environment Agency plans to dredge a number of sites across its navigations in 2010-11; these will cover an equivalent length of 5 kms. Due to the fact that nearly all of the Environment Agency's navigations are heavily modified natural watercourses, with high flows naturally removing or re-profiling shoals and silt deposits, this greatly reduces the need for the agency to dredge extensive lengths of waterway.

Inland Waterways: Dredging

David Heyes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what length of  (a) British Waterways canals and  (b) Environment Agency waterways have been dredged in each of the last 10 years.

Richard Benyon: British Waterways estimates that it has dredged the following lengths of waterways for each of the past 10 years:
	
		
			   Length (km) 
			 2000-01 143 
			 2001-02 113 
			 2002-03 90 
			 2003-04 95 
			 2004-05 40 
			 2005-06 64 
			 2006-07 58 
			 2007-08 53 
			 2008-09 45 
			 2009-10 64 
		
	
	The Environment Agency does not maintain detailed records on the length of navigation dredging it has undertaken. However, it estimates that it has dredged a length of waterway equivalent to 5km per year, across its waterways over each of the past 10 years.

Inland Waterways: Dredging

David Heyes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the length of  (a) British Waterways canals and  (b) Environment Agency waterways which require dredging.

Richard Benyon: British Waterways estimates that 291 kilometres (km) of their canals and rivers require dredging, and are prioritised accordingly out of the total of 3,283 km for which they are responsible.
	The Environment Agency considers that the current dredging operations of around 5km per year meets the requirements of its navigations, and believes that this level best balances the cost/benefit for navigation with the needs of the environment.

Inland Waterways: Dredging

David Heyes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what volume of dredged material was removed from  (a) British Waterways canals and  (b) Environment Agency waterways in each of the last 10 years.

Richard Benyon: British Waterways estimates that it has removed the following volumes of materials from its waterways in each of the past 10 years:
	
		
			   Volume cubic metres 
			 2000-01 162,000 
			 2001-02 155,000 
			 2002-03 113,000 
			 2003-04 136,000 
			 2004-05 64,000 
			 2005-06 89,000 
			 2006-07 125,000 
			 2007-08 93,000 
			 2008-09 97,000 
			 2009-10 64,000 
		
	
	The Environment Agency estimates that on average it dredges some 50,000 cubic metres of material from its navigations per year. Some of this material is not removed, but is re-distributed to other parts of the river bed within key sites.

Phytophthora Ramorum

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what recent estimate she has made of the rate at which phytophthora ramorum is spreading  (a) nationally and  (b) in the South West;
	(2)  what recent estimate she has made of the geographical extent of phytophthora ramorum.

James Paice: Since the first detection of  Phytophthora ramorum in Sussex in May 2002, a systematic programme of surveys has been carried out by the Food and Environment Research Agency and the Forestry Commission covering nurseries, garden centres, woodland and other sites in the wider environment, with action being taken to destroy infected plants that posed a risk of further spread, especially Rhododendrons.
	While the disease caused by the pathogen has spread, and is now found in much of the south-west of England and Wales, occasionally in other parts of the south of England, and to a much lesser extent in Scotland, the rate of spread and the intensity of infection has been slowed by the action taken.
	In August 2009, the pathogen was found for the first time in Japanese larch, a commercial forestry tree species, at sites in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset, and surveys have found a number of further sites where trees have been infected. These surveys have intensified and are ongoing, supported by aerial surveillance by helicopter. Infected sites totalling around 1,850 hectares have been found in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and in South Wales. The evidence suggests that all of the woodlands that have been found with dead and dying larch could have become infected as a result of a weather event causing aerial spread, possibly in 2008. The extent of subsequent spread is still being investigated.

Public Sector: Procurement

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to set up an advisory group to promote sustainable local procurement.

James Paice: The Government have no immediate plans to set up an advisory group to promote sustainable food procurement. The Government are however examining ways of promoting local procurement including the further development of local food hubs.
	The procurement of food in the public sector is an area where the coalition Government is looking for progress both in terms of efficiencies and sustainability. The public sector must lead by example on this and DEFRA, with input from other Government Departments and external organisations, is already looking into how this can be achieved. For example, we are in the process of considering criteria for Government Buying Standards (GBS) to ensure the public sector procures sustainable food and catering services. GBS are mandatory for central Government Departments and their executive agencies and these standards will be promoted to the wider public sector.

Salmon

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much farmed Atlantic salmon was produced in the UK in each of the last five years; and what proportion was sold under the EU protected Geographical Indication Appellation Regulation for Scottish Farmed Salmon in each such year.

Richard Benyon: Farming of Atlantic salmon in the UK is dominated by Scotland, although a small production does occur in Northern Ireland. The following table shows the combined Scottish and Northern Ireland annual production from 2004 to 2008.
	
		
			  UK Atlantic Salmon production 
			   thousand tonnes 
			 2004 159 
			 2005 130 
			 2006 132 
			 2007 130 
			 2008 129 
		
	
	DEFRA does not hold information on the proportion of Atlantic salmon sold under the EU Protected Geographical Indication Appellation Regulation for Scottish Farmed Salmon.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Graham Evans: To ask the Attorney-General how much  (a) the Law Officers' Departments and  (b) their agency spent on televisions in each year since 1997.

Edward Garnier: Since launching in 2008-09, the National Fraud Authority has spent £1,335.98 on the purchase and installation of a television and DVD player. In 2007 the Serious Fraud Office purchased four plasma screen televisions at a total cost £9,240.
	The Crown Prosecution Service's (CPS) records show that it has purchased one plasma television screen in the last five years. The screen was purchased during 2005-06 and cost £5,287, including installation costs.
	CPS central records only hold items that cost over the capitalisation threshold of £500 and it is possible that televisions have been purchased throughout the CPS at a lower cost. To obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	The Revenue and Customs Prosecution Service (RCPO), which merged with CPS on 1 January 2010, previously purchased one plasma screen television during 2006-07 at a cost of £1,755, which included purchase and installation.
	The Attorney-General's Office bought six televisions for the refurbishment of their new headquarters, 20 Victoria street in spring 2007, costing £5,376.67 plus VAT.
	The Treasury Solicitor's Department purchased two televisions in each of the years 2005, 2006 and 2007, at a respective cost of £3,198 plus VAT (2005); £1,798 plus VAT (2006); and £3,302 plus VAT (2007). Five of the six are for use in in-house training and not for receiving television signals.

Departmental Official Cars

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Attorney-General which  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in the Law Officers' Departments have been driven by the Government Car Service since the Government took office; and how much each of these persons has received in expenses for use of taxis, buses and underground trains in that period.

Edward Garnier: The Law Officers and the Director of Public Prosecutions have been driven by the Government Car Service (GCS) since the Government took office. On some occasions a small number of officials in the Attorney-General's Office have accompanied the Law Officers on official business, but their names cannot be disclosed on the grounds of staff confidentiality.
	The Treasury Solicitor has used the GCS on two occasions since 6 May. During this period the Solicitor-General has claimed £12 for a taxi journey and the Director of Public Prosecutions has claimed for four taxi journeys at a total cost of £108.60.

Departmental Training

Graham Evans: To ask the Attorney-General how much  (a) the Law Officers' Department and  (b) their agency spent on employee training in each year since 1997.

Edward Garnier: The information requested is contained in the following table.
	
		
			  Cost (£) 
			   NFA( 1)  SFO  CPS( 2)  Tsol( 3) 
			 1997-98 - 129,048 - - 
			 1998-99 - 136,960 - 298,000 
			 1999-2000 - 126,948 - 333,000 
			 2000-01 - 182,936 - 400,000 
			 2001-02 - 239,997 - 549,000 
			 2002-03 - 179,833 - 654,000 
			 2003-04 - 152,510 4,033,000 773,000 
			 2004-05 - 250,699 3,863,000 654,000 
			 2005-06 - 320,537 3,986,000 559,000 
			 2006-07 - 377,173 3,956,000 678,000 
			 2007-08 - 425,289 3,568,000 765,000 
			 2008-09 9,617 445,191 3,456,000 817,000 
			 2009-10 37,656 236,821 3,160,000 704,000 
			 (1) The training cost for 2009-10 reflects an increase in staff numbers and full year impact of NFA operations. (2) The figures for employee training provided from 2005-06 onwards include costs for the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Service (RCPO) who merged with the CPS on 1 January 2010. The data are taken from the Financial Management System and are only available from 2003-04 onwards, data for earlier years could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. The figures include road, rail and air travel-and also charges for car hire. (3) Figures cover the amount spent by the Treasury Solicitor's Department, Attorney-General's Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate for each year. The figures prior to 1998-1999 are not retained on the Department's accounting system, and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate was not included within the Department until mid-2001.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received reports on levels of anti-Semitism in  (a) Ukraine,  (b) Latvia and  (c) Estonia since his appointment; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: There are no significant problems with anti-Semitism in Latvia and Estonia. In recent years there have been a number of anti-Semitic incidents in Ukraine. We take a serious view of these incidents and continue to urge the Ukrainian authorities to tackle them in a determined way in accordance with Ukraine's international commitments. At the EU-Ukraine Co-operation Council on 15 June 2010, the EU urged the Ukrainian Prime Minister to continue to take further steps to combat intolerance and discrimination against national and other minorities and in particular hate crimes.

Armenia: Genocide

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on recognition of the deaths which took place in the Armenian genocide in 1919.

David Lidington: The terrible suffering that was inflicted on Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century cannot be forgotten. The massacres and crimes that were committed were rightly and robustly condemned by the Government of the day. While we remember the victims of the past, our priority today should be to promote reconciliation between the peoples and governments of Turkey and Armenia. That is the best way to ensure a peaceful and secure future for everyone living in the region.

Cyprus

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his overseas counterparts on a political settlement in Cyprus; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed the Cyprus settlement negotiations with the Cypriot Foreign Minister, Markos Kyprianou on 12 July 2010. He had also previously discussed the issue with the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on 8 July 2010. I have discussed the issues with my Turkish counterpart Egemin Bagis. We are committed to supporting the UN's efforts to achieve a settlement based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality. We want to see a settlement agreed and peacefully implemented by Cypriots for Cypriots to deliver a stable, prosperous and united Cyprus, operating as a valued partner within the EU.

Departmental Location

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to relocate  (a) civil servants and  (b) Government bodies for which his Department is responsible (i) out of London and (ii) to the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The location of public sector activity and plans for the Government's estate will be considered alongside other public spending issues over the course of the Spending Review.

Departmental Lost Property

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what property has been recorded as  (a) lost and  (b) stolen from the Department in the last 12 months; and what estimate has been made of the cost of the replacement of that property.

Alistair Burt: The information required is held separately in various Foreign and Commonwealth Office Departments, all of which hold records relating to various losses and thefts of both personal property and official furnishings, including IT equipment losses. This information is not held centrally, and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Offices

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to relocate officials working in his Department from central London to Bassetlaw.

Alistair Burt: The location of public sector activity and plans for the Government's estate will be considered alongside other public spending issues over the course of the spending review.

Departmental Sick Leave

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many days absence because of illness among his Department's staff were recorded in each month since 1997.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is committed to reducing sickness absence. The average number of days sick leave by UK staff has decreased from 8.9 days in 1997 to 3.5 days in 2009. Per capita sickness absence in the FCO has been consistently below the public sector average.
	We do not keep records centrally of sick leave taken by locally-engaged staff members. This information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
	Data collection since 1997 has been complicated by the introduction of new pay and management information systems. It is therefore possible that the figures given as follows do not reflect consistent recording methods.
	All figures include staff in FCO positions working for UK Border Agency, and also include staff working for FCO Services, which became a Trading Fund on 1 April 2008.
	Annual figures are available from 2000 and monthly figures from April 2006:
	
		
			   Total number of days  Average number of days per officer 
			 1997 n/a 8.9 
			 1998 n/a 8 
			 1999 n/a n/a 
			 2000 (1)20,900 6.3 
			 2001 25,012 6.6 
			 2002 27,720 4.7 
			 2003 33,219 5.6 
			 2004 35,969 6.2 
			 2005 20,904 3.4 
			 2006 19,102 3.1 
			 2007 20,650 3.6 
			 2008 20,267 3.6 
			 2009 21,271 3.5 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Estimated. 
		
	
	
		
			   Number 
			  2006  
			 April 2,232 
			 May 2,168 
			 June 1,868 
			 July 1,819 
			 August 1,726 
			 September 1,690 
			 October 1,648 
			 November 1,895 
			 December 1,549 
			   
			  2007  
			 January 1,682 
			 February 1,674 
			 March 1,770 
			 April 1,641 
			 May 1,777 
			 June 1,530 
			 July 1,723 
			 August 1,671 
			 September 1,572 
			 October 1,832 
			 November 2,028 
			 December 1,750 
			   
			  2008  
			 January 2,186 
			 February 1,895 
			 March 1,717 
			 April 1,845 
			 May 1,372 
			 June 1,258 
			 July 1,541 
			 August 1,250 
			 September 1,797 
			 October 1,847 
			 November 1,621 
			 December 1,938 
			   
			  2009  
			 January 1,986 
			 February 2,036 
			 March 1,931 
			 April 1,761 
			 May 1,793 
			 June 1,669 
			 July 2,111 
			 August 1,563 
			 September 1,469 
			 October 1,827 
			 November 1,773 
			 December 1,352 
			   
			  2010  
			 January 1,385 
			 February 1,362 
			 March 1,660 
			 April 1,334 
			 May 1,535 
			 June 1,365

Diplomatic Service: Redundancy

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which overseas posts his Department is considering for possible closure.

Alistair Burt: As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has stated, we will not secure the UK's economic recovery or our future security and prosperity without looking beyond our shores for new opportunities and new partners. There can be no suggestion that it is in our national interest for our role in the world to wither and shrivel away. The Government reject the idea of strategic shrinkage. Although we keep the size and scope of our network under constant review to ensure it is efficient and effective, any decisions to open or close posts will always take into account the crucial role our overseas network plays in serving the needs and protecting the interests of the British people.

Gaza

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to visit Gaza.

Alistair Burt: For security and operational reasons, we do not comment on or announce visits by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary significantly in advance.

Iran

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his overseas counterparts on the state of democracy in Iran.

Alistair Burt: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary regularly discusses Iran with his EU counterparts, including the state of democracy, human rights concerns and developments in Iran's nuclear programme. The Foreign Secretary has also discussed Iran with a number of other overseas counterparts. We will continue to work with international partners to voice our concerns over democratic shortcomings in Iran and encourage the Iranian authorities to address the concerns raised by many within Iran following the disputed presidential election in 2009.

Iran: Baha'i Faith

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Iranian authorities to free the seven Baha'i leaders now in their third year in prison awaiting trial; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The UK remains extremely concerned about the ongoing detention of the seven Baha'i leaders in Iran. In my statement of 10 June 2010, I made clear that the accused should be given due legal process and that their rights be fully protected, in line with international standards.
	This is a case I am following closely and I again urge the Iranian Government to cease its harassment of the Baha'i minority, and to respect the rights of the many members of minority groups who continue to face arrest and lengthy prison sentences, often on vaguely worded charges of acting against national security.

Iran: Capital Punishment

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he is making to the President of Iran on the death sentences on Ms Sakineh Ashtiani and others convicted for alleged adultery; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: In a statement on 7 July 2010 my hon. Friend Alistair Burt made clear our deep concern over the reports that Ms Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani would be executed by stoning. EU High Representative Catherine Ashton also issued a statement on 6 July 2010 calling on Iran to halt this and other executions. Following a statement by the Iranian embassy that Ms Ashtiani would not be stoned to death, my hon. Friend telephoned the Iranian ambassador on 9 July 2010the Under-Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) to express concern that Ms Ashtiani could still be executed by different means and urged the Iranian authorities to review her case. We will continue to follow this case closely and raise our concerns with the Iranian authorities.

Iran: Human Rights

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made an assessment of the human rights situation of Jewish people in Iran since his appointment; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: I am deeply concerned about the situation of Jewish people, and a number of other minorities, in Iran. The position of the three religious minorities recognised by the constitution-Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians-remains vulnerable. Although recognised minority groups have reserved seats in the Parliament, higher positions in state institutions are reserved exclusively for Shiite Muslims.
	Further, government rhetoric and actions often create a threatening atmosphere for non-Shia religious groups. I have stated publicly our support for the rights of minorities in Iran and will continue to raise this issue with the Iranian authorities.

Iraq: Embassies

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has for the British Embassy Office in the Kurdistan region of Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers continuously review the deployment of FCO resources, including our embassy office in Erbil, and align them with UK interests.

Iraq: Embassies

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which companies sponsored the arrangements made by the British Embassy in Baghdad to celebrate HM the Queen's Birthday in 2010.

Alistair Burt: The Queen's Birthday celebration at our embassy in Baghdad was sponsored by the following companies: Shell, HSBC, BAE Systems, Cyril Sweett, ITT, Copperchase, Inanna Diyala, Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB), Mott McDonald and Standard Chartered.

Kyrgyzistan: Politics and Government

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the role of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe in responding to the security situation in Kyrgyzistan.

David Lidington: The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), working closely with the UN, EU and other international actors, is playing an important role in helping Kyrgyzstan take steps to ensure peace, institutional stability, open dialogue, rule of law and democracy for all of its people.
	The Special Envoy of OSCE Chairman-in-Office and the OSCE Centre in Bishkek are at the forefront of this work. Their efforts are reinforced by the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and by the OSCE's High Commissioner on National Minorities. I expect to discuss Kyrgyzstan during the informal meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers in Almaty on 16-17 July 2010.

Michael Binnington and Luke Atkinson

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consular assistance his Department provided to  (a) Michael Binnington and  (b) Luke Atkinson in respect of legal proceedings in Cyprus.

David Lidington: The role of consular staff when a British national is detained overseas is essentially one of welfare. The Government are not able to interfere with the legal process of another country, nor are we able to give legal advice.
	Our consular staff visited Mr Atkinson and Mr Binnington several times during their detention. Both men were given information about local legal systems and processes, together with a list of local Cypriot lawyers. They were advised to pursue their cases through the Cypriot legal system.

USA: Pakistan

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to his US counterpart to support the repatriation of Dr Aafia Siddiqui to Pakistan on humanitarian grounds.

Alistair Burt: Dr Aafia Siddiqui is a Pakistani national currently standing trial in the US on terrorism charges. As a Pakistani national, any representations would be made to the US by the Pakistani authorities on Dr Siddiqui's behalf.

Yemen: Counter-terrorism

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has spent on countering terrorism in Yemen under each category of expenditure in each of the last three years.

Alistair Burt: Due to the sensitive nature of counter terrorism projects, we cannot provide details of the exact amounts allocated to projects in specific countries under the counter terrorism and radicalisation programme.

CABINET OFFICE

Business: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many small businesses in Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency generated a turnover of  (a) between £70,000 and £100,000 and  (b) over £100,000 in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many small businesses in Bexleyheath and Crayford generated a turnover of (a) between £70,000 and £100,000 and (b) over £100,000 in the most recent period for which figures are available.
	Annual statistics on business counts are available from the ONS release UK Business: Activity, Size and Location at
	www.statistics.gov.uk
	Data are for enterprises in the constituency of Bexleyheath and Crayford with less than 50 employment and for the year 2009.
	
		
			  Count of VAT and/or PAYE based enterprises with less than 50 employment for the constituency of Bexleyheath and Crayford 
			  Turnover size  Count 
			 £70,000-£99,000 400 
			 £100,000+ 1,195

Departmental Public Expenditure

David Blunkett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 26 May 2010,  Official Report, columns 2-3WS, on savings (2010-11), under what budgetary headings the £79 million of savings allocated to his Department will be made.

Nick Hurd: The savings have been allocated as follows:
	Administration budget: £4.25 million
	Programme budget: £68.25 million
	Capital budget: £6.5 million.

Departmental Speeches

Angela Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which  (a) (i) civil servants and (ii) special advisers in his Department and  (b) other individuals are employed to write speeches for each Minister in his Department.

Francis Maude: Cabinet Office staff will contribute to the drafting of ministerial speeches as appropriate. Special advisers also contribute to the preparation of speeches in line with their code of conduct.

Departmental Training

Graham Evans: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his  (a) Department and  (b) its agency and non-departmental public bodies spent on training for its employees in each year since 1997.

Francis Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 July 2010,  Official Report, column 668W.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Norwich

Simon Wright: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people aged under 25 years old and resident in Norwich South constituency claimed jobseeker's allowance in  (a) 1997,  (b) 2007,  (c) 2008 and  (d) 2009.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people aged under 25 years old and resident in Norwich South constituency claimed jobseekers allowance in (a) 1997 (b) 2007 (c) 2008 and (d) 2009. (7050)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles the number of claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system.
	The Norwich South parliamentary constituency changed to new boundaries at the 2010 general election. Figures for the current Norwich South parliamentary constituency are only available from 2005.
	Table 1 attached, shows the number of persons aged under 25 years claiming JSA, resident in the current Norwich South parliamentary constituency for May in each year since 2005, including May 2010, the latest period for which figures are available.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of persons( 1)  aged under 25 resident in Norwich South constituency claiming jobseeker's allowance 
			   Number 
			 May 2005 565 
			 May 2006 675 
			 May 2007 610 
			 May 2008 555 
			 May 2009 815 
			 May 2010 860 
			 (1) Age data are only available for computerised claims, which account for 99.7% of all claims.  Note: Data rounded to nearest five.  Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative system

Lone Parents: Birmingham

Jack Dromey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many lone parents there are in Birmingham Erdington constituency.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many lone parents there are in Birmingham Erdington constituency. (6937)
	The number and type of families in the UK can be estimated using the Annual Population Survey (APS). Estimates are provided for lone parent families which include at least one child aged under 16.
	The latest available figure is for 2008 and is shown in the table below. This is based on the 2008 parliamentary constituency boundary. Birmingham Erdington, as constituted in 2008, consisted of five electoral wards, one more than the current constituency. The breakdown of the data available is not sufficiently detailed to determine whether the newly constituted parliamentary constituency contains the same estimated number of lone parents as the 2008 constituency.
	
		
			  Geographical area  Number of lone parent families with at least one child under 16 (Thousand) 
			 Birmingham Erdington constituency (2008) 5 
			  Source: APS January to December 2008

Lone Parents: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many lone parents there are in Milton Keynes North constituency.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many lone parents there are in Milton Keynes North constituency. (7064)
	The number and type of families in the UK can be estimated using the Annual Population Survey (APS). Estimates are provided for lone parent families which include at least one child aged under 16.
	The latest available figure is for 2008 and is shown in the table below. This is based on the 2008 parliamentary constituency boundary. 'North East Milton Keynes', as constituted in 2008, consisted of 15 electoral wards, three more than the current constituency of 'Milton Keynes North'. The breakdown of the data available is not sufficiently detailed to determine whether the newly constituted parliamentary constituency contains the same estimated number of lone parents as the 2008 constituency.
	
		
			  Geographical area  Number of lone parent families- with at least one child under 16 (thousand) 
			 North East Milton Keynes constituency (2008) 3 
			  Source: APS January to December 2008

National Citizen Service

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress has been made in establishing a national citizen service.

Nick Hurd: Details of this programme will be announced by the Cabinet Office later this year, with a launch expected in 2011.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Advantage West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the value generated for the West Midlands regional economy by each £1 spent by Advantage West Midlands in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: An independent review conducted by PwC in 2006/07 found that RDAs on average generated a return of £4.50 for every £1 spent. The average return for AWM is just under £4 to £1. This ranges from £1:£1 for the 'People and skills' programme to £16:£1 for their individual enterprise support scheme. But, as the PwC analysis also revealed, much of RDAs' spending was of poor value. More than half the RDAs' economic benefits came from just 20% of their spending.
	In these constrained times, we need to ensure that all spending is valuable and worthwhile. That is why this Government are creating local enterprise partnerships (LEPs), accountable to the people affected by the LEPs actions, so that money is spent on programmes that will make a difference, not to meet Whitehall targets.

Advantage West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding Advantage West Midlands provided for businesses in the West Midlands in each of the last five years.

Mark Prisk: The Department allocates budgets to regional development agencies. The agencies determine which projects to support, subject to the terms of the Accountability and Financial Framework and their delegated financial authorities. RDAs' investments have been guided by the regional economic strategy and their corporate plans. The Department does not hold details of funding for businesses given by the RDAs within their delegated financial authorities.

Advantage West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to how many businesses Advantage West Midlands provided funding to in each of the last five years.

Mark Prisk: The number of businesses supported by Advantage West Midlands (AWM) over the last five years are set out within the RDA's annual reports and accounts and can be found at:
	www.advantagewm.co.uk
	The annual reports are also available in the Libraries of the House.

Advantage West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people were placed in training by Advantage West Midlands in each of the last five years.

Mark Prisk: Figures in Advantage West Midlands' (AWM) annual reports indicate that the RDA has assisted more than 100,000 people with training. The following figures provide the annual breakdown of the numbers of people assisted.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2005-06 27,500 
			 2006-07 22,550 
			 2007-08 21,630 
			 2008-09 16,622 
			 2009-10 17,077 
			 Total 105,379

Apprentices

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many apprenticeships were taken up by people aged between 30 and 50 years in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what target he has set for the number of apprenticeships to be taken up by people aged between 30 and 50 years in each of the next five years.

John Hayes: Table 1 shows apprenticeship starts for learners aged between 30 and 50 years old. Figures are given for 2004/05 to 2008/09, the latest year for which full year data are available. The upper age limit of 25 was abolished in 2006.
	
		
			  Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts for 30 to 50-year-olds, 2004/05 to 2008/09 
			   Number 
			 2004/05 200 
			 2005/06 100 
			 2006/07 (1)- 
			 2007/08 16,100 
			 2008/09 33,000 
			 (1) Indicates a base figure of less than 50.   Notes:  1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.  2. Figures are based on age at start of programme.   Source:  Individualised Learner Record. 
		
	
	Information on the number of apprenticeship starts is published in a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 24 June:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current/
	167,000 adult apprenticeship starts are planned in the 2010/11 academic year. Our plans do not separately target those aged 30 to 50. Plans for adult apprenticeships for 2010/11 and 2011 /12 will be confirmed in the autumn. The Government's decision to redeploy £150 million of our savings for 2010-11, creating an additional 50,000 places, demonstrates our commitment to high-quality employer owned apprenticeships.

Apprentices: West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what plans he has to increase the number of engineering apprenticeships in  (a) the West Midlands,  (b) Dudley borough and  (c) Dudley North constituency;
	(2)  what plans he has to increase the number of manufacturing apprenticeships in  (a) the West Midlands,  (b) Dudley borough and  (c) Dudley North constituency.

John Hayes: We are seeking to drive up the skills levels of the work force by directing public funding where it will bring the clearest benefits. Apprenticeships will play a vital role in this. Our decision to redeploy £150 million of Train to Gain funding to create 50,000 high-quality, employer-led apprenticeship places is just the beginning. My ambition is no less than to build a system that facilitates more apprenticeships in England than we have ever seen before.
	To build an advanced economy we need advanced skills in manufacturing and engineering and apprenticeships are a major contributor to the nation's engineering and manufacturing skills base. Last year 37,000 people started an apprenticeship in engineering and manufacturing technologies in England and I want to see this number rise. That is why this Government are committed to increasing the number of apprenticeships, in particular, advanced and higher apprenticeships. We are also committed to driving up the quality of apprenticeships and ensuring, through Sector Skills Councils, that all apprenticeship frameworks meet the needs of the real economy. Sector Skills Councils also have a key role in driving up demand from employers within their sectors and encouraging more businesses to offer apprenticeship places.
	We fund apprenticeships on a national basis through the Skills Funding Agency (SFA)-there are no regional or sectoral allocations. We expect the SFA to work with the National Apprenticeships Service, employers, colleges and training organisations in Dudley and the West Midlands to make additional apprenticeship places available where there is local demand.

Batteries: Recycling

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to ensure that waste industrial and automotive batteries are recycled.

Mark Prisk: The Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009 (SI 2009 No. 890) implement certain provisions in the Batteries and Accumulators and Waste Batteries and Accumulators Directive (2006/66/EC), including those which came into effect on 1 January 2010, prohibiting the disposal of waste industrial and automotive batteries by landfilling or incineration and requiring their recycling. The regulations place a responsibility on producers of such batteries to ensure they are recycled when becoming waste, but also permit this to be done by other licensed operators.

Business Links

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Business Link service; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each assessment on the effectiveness of the service he has considered.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 12 July 2010
	A full economic impact assessment of Business Link was published by BERR in 2007. An early stage assessment of the Business Link-delivered health checks was completed in 2009. Both of these reports are in the Library and are freely available from the BIS website. Business Link is currently under review and the Department will be drawing on the data provided within these evaluations as it considers ways to modernise how business support is delivered.

Business Links

Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has for the future of Business Link.

Mark Prisk: The Coalition Government are committed to abolishing the regional development agencies (RDAs) and establishing local enterprise partnerships. Business Link is provided by the RDAs and we are currently reviewing all the functions of the RDAs to determine whether and how best to deliver them in future. Business Link is being reviewed as part of this process.

Business Links: Expenditure

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding his Department allocated to Business Link in each of the last three years.

Mark Prisk: In 2005, responsibility for managing Business Link face-to-face services was transferred to the RDAs. The previous budget used to deliver Business Link services was added to the Department's contribution towards the RDA "Single-Pot". This allows the regions to draw down as much or as little funding as they see fit to deliver the service in their areas.
	Over the last three years, the RDAs have allocated the following budgets to their Business Link providers:
	
		
			  BL funding over period 2007/10( 1) 
			  £ million 
			   2007/08  2008/09  2009/10 
			 NWRDA 14.1 16.5 19.7 
			 NERDA 12.9 12.9 19.1 
			 AWM 22.8 35.2 16.7 
			 EMDA 13.0 13.7 14.6 
			 EEDA 15.8 16.0 14.5 
			 Y&H 13.0 13.0 15.7 
			 LDA 19.4 26.7 17.0 
			 SWRDA 19.6 19.9 13.6 
			 SEEDA 24.0 24.0 22.7 
			 Total 154.6 177.9 153.6

Business: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether any businesses in  (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and  (b) the London Borough of Bexley received support from the Capital for Enterprise fund in the last 12 months.

Mark Prisk: The Capital for Enterprise Fund has made investments in 38 businesses with a total value of £50.8 million. These include 13 investments in London and four in the south-east of England. Given the limited number of investments in these regions, and for reason of commercial confidentiality, I am unable to provide a breakdown by parliamentary constituency as this could make it possible to identify the individual companies that have received support.

Business: Government Assistance

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has for the future of the Financial Intermediary Service; and what steps he plans to take to assist small businesses to access finance.

Mark Prisk: The coalition Government are committed to abolishing the regional development agencies and establishing local enterprise partnerships. Business Link is provided by the RDAs and we are currently reviewing all the functions of the RDAs to determine whether and how best to deliver them in future. Business Link and the Financial Intermediary Service are being reviewed as part of this process.

Business: Government Assistance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department took to assist small and medium-sized business during the recent recession; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: It is an established convention that Minsters of one Administration cannot see the documents of a previous Administration. I am therefore unable to provide the information requested.

Business: North East

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has for the future of  (a) Business Link and  (b) publicly-funded business support in (i) the North East and (ii) Houghton and Sunderland South constituency.

Mark Prisk: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Stockton North (Alex Cunningham) on 14 July 2010,  Official Report, column 804W.

Business: Regulation

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which items of regulation have been identified for repeal under his one in, one out policy.

Mark Prisk: Departments are currently identifying which regulations can be removed or simplified to comply with the one-in one-out rule.
	Members of the public also have the opportunity, through the Your Freedom website, to suggest which regulations could be removed to reduce the burden on business.

Companies

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many companies were struck off the Register of Companies in  (a) England,  (b) Wales,  (c) Scotland and  (d) Northern Ireland in action instigated by (i) the company and (ii) the Registrar in 2009-10; how many such applications in each category did not proceed because objections were received; in respect of how many such applications in each category objections were received from HM Revenue and Customs; how many such applications in each category resulted in a striking off within six months of an objection being made regardless of that objection; how many companies struck off in each category (A) never filed accounts and (B) had accounts overdue for filing at the time the application was made; how many strikings-off initiated by the Registrar in each category were in cases where accounts were overdue for filing at the time the Registrar commenced action to strike off; and how many months each company in each category struck off by the Registrar had been in existence since their incorporation.

Edward Davey: Companies House can provide figures for England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland but not for Wales alone, as it is not a separate jurisdiction from England.
	The numbers of companies in each category struck off in 2009-10 were as follows:
	
		
			  Jurisdiction  Voluntary dissolution-instigated by the company  Compulsory dissolution-instigated by the registrar 
			 Scotland 10,385 8,792 
			 England and Wales 159,199 326,657 
			 Northern Ireland 96 26 
		
	
	The numbers of companies in each category not struck off because objections were received were as follows:
	
		
			  Jurisdiction  Voluntary dissolution-instigated by the company  Compulsory dissolution-instigated by the Registrar 
			 Scotland 1,962 2,976 
			 England and Wales 9,358 17,943 
			 Northern Ireland 91 22 
		
	
	The numbers of companies in each category where objections to striking off were received from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs were as follows:
	
		
			  Jurisdiction  Voluntary dissolution-instigated by the company  Compulsory dissolution-instigated by the Registrar 
			 Scotland 1,934 2,796 
			 England and Wales 8,882 13,870 
			 Northern Ireland 85 19 
		
	
	The numbers of companies struck off following an objection were as follows:
	
		
			  Jurisdiction  Voluntary dissolution-instigated by the company  Compulsory dissolution-instigated by the Registrar 
			 Scotland 2,935 1,452 
			 England and Wales 15,827 24,101 
			 Northern Ireland 9 1 
		
	
	The numbers above are higher than might be expected because the objection to the striking off may have been made in the previous year-2008-09.
	The question as to how many companies were dissolved because no accounts were filed can be answered only in relation to compulsory dissolutions and are as follows:
	
		
			  Jurisdiction  Compulsory dissolution-instigated by the registrar 
			 Scotland 7,147 
			 England and Wales 135,636 
			 Northern Ireland 8 
		
	
	The question as to how many companies were dissolved where accounts were overdue for filing can be answered only in relation to compulsory dissolutions and are as follows:
	
		
			   Compulsory dissolution-instigated by the registrar 
			  Jurisdiction  Number  P ercentage 
			 Scotland 8,792 100 
			 England and Wales 326,657 100 
			 Northern Ireland 26 100 
		
	
	As the registrar only instigates striking off action against companies for failing to file their accounts the figures above will be the same as for the total number of companies stuck off compulsorily (see first table).
	The figures relating to how many months each company, in each category, struck off by the registrar had been in existence since its incorporation has been deposited in the Library due to the large volume (134 pages) of the information.

Companies: Registration

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the percentage of applications to register a company using Form IN01, which are rejected by Companies House owing to errors in the completion of the form.

Edward Davey: The most recent estimate made of the percentage of applications to register a company, which are rejected by Companies House is 17.1% overall. This figure includes errors in the completion of the form IN01, errors in the company's model articles (which must accompany the IN01), and a missing or incorrect fee.

Electric Vehicles

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  whether he plans to implement the proposed consumer incentive for electric vehicles;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the likely effects on the manufacturing industry in the North East of the proposed £5,000 consumer incentive for the purchase of electric vehicles.

Mark Prisk: The final decisions on the consumer incentive for electric vehicles rest with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport. He is considering this issue and, as has been previously stated, a statement will be made as soon as possible.
	No assessment has been made of the impact of the incentive on manufacturing on a regional basis.

Finance Yorkshire

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how much Finance Yorkshire has provided in loans to businesses since its creation;
	(2)  how many applications for funding Finance Yorkshire has  (a) refused and  (b) approved since its creation;
	(3)  what the budget was for Finance Yorkshire in 2009-10; and how much of that budget was spent on loans to businesses.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 13 July 2010
	Finance Yorkshire has not yet provided any loans to businesses. Since its launch on 12 March 2010, Finance Yorkshire has processed 306 applications for funding. From these, 293 applications have been rejected and 13 applications have received approval in principle and are at offer stage before final due diligence and completion. It is anticipated that loans to business will be completed shortly, following the imminent completion of a European Investment Bank (EIB) loan to Finance Yorkshire.
	In 2009-10 Finance Yorkshire spent £400,484 on set-up costs, including for example IT equipment and upgrading the premises to ensure they are fit for purpose. A further £114,696 was spent on running costs, including staff salaries.
	£45 million was committed to Finance Yorkshire as programme funds in 2009-10 comprising £15 million RDA Single Programme and a £30 million European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grant. This investment was made in order to draw down a £45 million loan from the EIB.

Foreign Investment in UK: North West

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support his Department has made available to attract inward investment to  (a) Wirral West and  (b) the North West in the last three years.

Mark Prisk: The information requested is as follows:
	Under the current economic development structures in England, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills allocates budgets to regional development agencies. The agencies determine what assistance to provide to business, subject to the terms of the accountability and financial framework and their delegated financial authorities. RDAs' investments have been guided by the regional economic strategy and their corporate plans.
	 North West( 1)
	UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) is the Government Department that leads on work to attract high quality foreign direct investment (FDI) into the UK in partnership with economic development agencies, and other Government Departments, across the country. This delivers a high standard of service throughout the investment process. Full use is made of the UK's global network of embassies, high commissions and consulates. Significantly assisted by that work, over the last few years, the Northwest has been the most successful UK region, outside of the South East, for attracting FDI projects.
	The total number of FDI projects for the financial years 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 was 511 (see table). In 2009-10, despite the current economic climate, there were 179 FDI projects in the North West, estimated to involve nearly 13,500 jobs-over 7,000 of those being new, the remainder safeguarded. The public sector were involved in nearly 70% of these projects.
	( 1) Source:
	UKTI and NWDA
	
		
			  Total North West 
			   Number/£ 
			  2007-08  
			 Total Projects 156 
			 Associated Jobs 14,444 
			 Public Sector Involved(1) 93 
			 Grant Ass-projects 17 
			 Grant Ass-total (£) 14,554,700 
			   
			  2008-09  
			 Total Projects 176 
			 Associated Jobs 11,436 
			 Public Sector Involved 111 
			 Grant Ass-projects 11 
			 Grant Ass-total (£) 9,048,400 
			   
			  2009-10  
			 Total Projects 179 
			 Associated Jobs 13,486 
			 Public Sector Involved 125 
			 Grant Assisted Projects 25 
			 Grant Assistance (£) 38,143,000 
			 (1) Public Sector Involved, Grant Ass-projects and Grant Ass-total (£ million) figures provided by NWDA 
		
	
	 Wirral West(2)
	Records show no FDI projects over the past three years for postcodes CH48 and 47, which are in Wirral West, and none in the shared constituency postcodes of CH41 and 49.
	( 2 ) Source:
	UKTI

Further Education

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which further education colleges Ministers of his Department have visited since their appointment.

John Hayes: So far I have visited City and Islington College and Uxbridge College. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has visited Birmingham Metropolitan College.
	I have written to all college principals on two occasions in regard to FE capital funding and increased freedoms in the FE sector. In addition I have met many college principals personally and had several meetings with the sector representative bodies, the Association of Colleges, the 157 Groups and the Association of Learning Providers.
	I am also currently working with my officials on a series of visits across the country during the parliamentary recess and in the autumn academic term.

Further Education: Finance

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding each regional development agency contributed to capital building projects for further education colleges in each of the last five years.

Mark Prisk: The Department allocates budgets to regional development agencies. The agencies determine which projects to support, subject to the terms of the accountability and financial framework and their delegated financial authorities. RDAs' investments have been guided by the regional economic strategy and their corporate plans. The Department does not hold details of individual projects supported by the RDAs within their delegated financial authorities.

Members: Correspondence

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 8 March 2010 from the right hon. Member for Leicester East on his constituent Mr Martin Wheelwright.

Mark Prisk: The right hon. Member's letter was answered by the then Minister of State for Trade Promotion and Investment on 28 April 2010.

One NorthEast

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many local authorities in the North East his Department consulted before the announcement of proposals to abolish One NorthEast.

Mark Prisk: The coalition programme set out the Government's intention to support the creation of local enterprise partnerships to replace regional development agencies. The Government confirmed its intention to abolish all regional development agencies in the Budget on 22 June 2010. If it is the clear wish of business and civic leaders to establish a local enterprise partnership for a functional economic area that matches existing regional boundaries, we will not object.

Regional Development Agencies

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 15 June 2010,  Official Report, column 391W, on regional development agencies, what activity  (a) each regional development agency and  (b) the National Secretariat for Regional Development Agencies has undertaken to communicate the benefits of the retention of regional development agencies since the general election to stakeholders; and at what cost to the public purse.

Mark Prisk: The regional development agencies and the RDA Secretariat have not undertaken any activities specifically for the purpose of communicating to stakeholders the benefits of the retention of regional development agencies since the general election.

Regional Development Agencies: West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what research his Department has  (a) undertaken and  (b) commissioned on the likely effects on the (i) number of jobs and (ii) economy in (A) the West Midlands and (B) Dudley borough of the abolition of regional development agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: Our proposals are for restructuring the delivery landscape for economic development. Replacing the regional development agencies (RDAs) with local enterprise partnerships will ensure that these partnerships better reflect the natural economic geography of the areas that they serve.
	Reorganising the delivery of economic development will ensure a focused targeted delivery of policy/services in areas where it can have the most benefit, and we would not expect that this transition will have a negative impact on the economy in the English regions or the number of jobs.

Sector Skills Councils

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what plans he has for the future role of the Sector Skills Councils; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what meetings Ministers in his Department have had with the  (a) Chair and  (b) Chief Executive of each Sector Skills Council since 12 May 2010.

John Hayes: The coalition Government believe in a strong employer role and voice in the skills system, and that this is best organised at sectoral level. Sector Skills Councils have a crucial role in all aspects of our skills policy, including apprenticeships. We will continue to empower them as the voice of employers in the skills system-and to challenge them to perform with maximum effectiveness. In June I met with representatives from the Alliance of Sector Skills Councils (SSCs), including SSC Chief Executives. I also met with Charlie Mayfield, the lead UK Commissioner for employer engagement, and a group of SSC chairs. Over the coming months I plan to meet with all the SSCs as part of a full and active dialogue to identify how best we can realise our ambitions for skills.

Sixth Form Colleges: Capital Investment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the 293 colleges he expects to receive capital grant support in 2010-11 will include sixth form colleges.

John Hayes: Out of the 293 colleges that the Skills Funding Agency expects to fund in 2010-11, 28 are sixth form colleges. From 1 April 2010 designated sixth form colleges became the responsibility of the Department for Education, however it was agreed that existing approved projects would be funded by the Skills Funding Agency in 2010-11.

Sixth Form Colleges: Capital Investment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the £50 million funding announced by his Department for colleges that have yet to receive significant funding from capital programmes will be available to all sixth form colleges which have not recently received such funding.

John Hayes: The £50 million additional college capital funding is not available to sixth form colleges. As of 1 April 2010 designated sixth form colleges became the responsibility of the Department for Education. Sebastian James, group operations director of DSG international plc, is conducting a comprehensive review of all Department for Education capital investment. The review will guide future spending decisions over the next spending review period (2011-12 to 2014-15) and will look at how best to meet demand; make current design and procurement cost-effective and efficient.

Takeovers

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of progress in his Department's review of factors that may be considered by regulators when takeovers are proposed.

Edward Davey: The Government have no current plans to amend the legislation governing the power to intervene in mergers on public interest grounds. We are satisfied that the existing powers provide the appropriate scope to take action to protect legitimate national interests that might be affected as a result of a merger. The Government will set out their general approach to regulation of takeovers in their forthcoming response to the 6 April report by the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee into Kraft's acquisition of Cadbury (HC 234). The takeover panel's consultation on options for amending the takeover code is due to close by 27 July 2010.

Vocational Training: West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to improve the level of skills among the  (a) youth and  (b) adult population in (i) the West Midlands, (ii) Dudley borough and (iii) Dudley North constituency.

John Hayes: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on the 15 June 2010,  Official Report, column 393W. In addition, from August professional, impartial, independent, comprehensive careers advice will be available through Next Step, the integrated adult careers service, to help individuals make the best choices about their progression in learning and work.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department makes available to the public on the health risks of alcohol consumption.

Anne Milton: The Department provides information on units, national health service drinking guidelines, the health risks of alcohol consumption and advice to help people reduce the amount they drink through the NHS Choices website:
	www.drinking.nhs.uk/index.html
	Previously, the Department provided information about unit information and the risks of alcohol consumption via the 'Know Your Limits' website. The content of these pages were updated and moved to NHS Choices as part of the 'Alcohol Effects' campaign in March 2010. The 'Alcohol Effects' campaign placed a greater prominence on the health risks of regularly drinking more than the recommended limits.
	The Department also provides leaflets and other materials to general practitioners, health professionals and other external organisations with an interest in raising alcohol awareness, through the Alcohol Learning Centre website.

Continuing Care

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when he expects to receive the report of the mid-term review of the National Service Framework for Long-Term Conditions;
	(2)  when he expects the mid-term review of the National Service Framework for Long-Term Medical Conditions to report.

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the National Service Framework for Long-Term Conditions.

Paul Burstow: We are currently considering the options for the National Service Framework for long-term neurological conditions, and will report back in due course.

Departmental Legal Costs

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on legal advice in each year since 1997.

Simon Burns: The Department's legal services team is provided by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) through a shared service agreement, and they procure external legal advice on our behalf. Figures are not held centrally prior to 2001, but the following table shows their external expenditure on legal advice between 2001 and 2010:
	
		
			  Financial year  Expenditure (£000) 
			 2001-02 770.2 
			 2002-03 875.3 
			 2003-04 1,655.1 
			 2004-05 1,102.1 
			 2005-06 1,140.5 
			 2006-07 947.7 
			 2007-08 985.3 
			 2008-09 617.7 
			 2009-10 1,229.7 
			  Notes:  1. These figures include expenditure relating to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, previously Medicines Control Agency, for the whole period, and for Food Standards Agency up to and including 2006-07.  2. These figures do not include data for other non-departmental public bodies and agencies, which is not held centrally, and would incur disproportionate cost to obtain.  3. These figures exclude the cost of the legal team itself.  4. From time to time, the Department obtains legal advice directly, in support of specific programmes or contracts for example. However, this expenditure cannot be separately identified without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Official Cars

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on the Government Car Service since the Government took office.

Simon Burns: The total invoiced expenditure on government cars since 12 May 2010 for the Department of Health is £78,005.31. The existing contracts, which were subject to a 90-day contract termination period, end on 19 August 2010. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code.

Departmental Training

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on employee away days in each year since 1997.

Simon Burns: The Department is committed to developing its staff and equipping them with the skills and knowledge to carry out their work. Away days make a contribution to such development.
	Away days are typically arranged by individual teams in the Department. No central records of these events are kept, so to collect this information for the core Department would incur disproportionate costs.
	Information about the costs of away days is available from four of the Department's currently existing non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), and from its one current agency: the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) These are presented in the following table. For the other NDPBs and agencies, including those which were abolished during the period 1997 to 2010, similar information does not exist or could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  £ 000 
			   1997-2002  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			  Organisation  
			 Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence - - - - - - - 2 1 
			 Monitor - - - 19 12 43 57 84 30 
			 Appointments Commission - 1 0 8 9 0 15 10 9 
			 Care Quality Commission - - - - - - - - 34 
			 MHRA - - - 21 20 16 48 69 27 
			  Note: Figures are from various sources and so may not exactly match with accrual accounts. Figures have been rounded to the nearest £1,000 and may include both revenue and capital.

Departmental Travel

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his  (a) Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies has spent on travel for employees in each year since 1997.

Simon Burns: Expenditure on travel incurred by the Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies from January 2002 to March 2010 is set out in the following table. A majority of travel is booked via the Department's central contract for travel, which covers air, rail and ferry travel. The following figures do not cover all travel spend for the Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies which may be purchased in exceptional cases via another route; for example a member of staff paying for rail ticket at short notice and claiming back the money spent as an expense. There are no central records held for these types of purchases and to provide this information would be at disproportionate cost.
	Data before 2002 is not available. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of spend between the Department and its non-departmental public bodies for the period from January 2003 to December 2003.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Period  Department  Agencies and non-departmental public bodies 
			 January 2002 to December 2002 5,474,820 3,533,927 
			 January 2003 to December 2003 9,042,135 
			 April 2004 to March 2005 6,591,243 2,022,877 
			 April 2005 to March 2006 6,729,453 3,125,390 
			 April 2006 to March 2007 5,601,756 3,481,789 
			 April 2007 to March 2008 6,202,412 3,122,724 
			 April 2008 to March 2009 8,512,741 4,037,328 
			 April 2009 to March 2010 8,450,744 4,913,308

Departmental Travel

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department have been driven by the Government Car Service since the Government took office; and how much each of these persons has received in expenses for use of taxis, buses and underground trains in that period.

Simon Burns: There are currently six cars and drivers allocated to the five Ministers and the chief executive of the national health service in the Department. The existing contracts, which were subject to a 90-day contract termination period, end on 19 August 2010. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code.
	No expenses were claimed by the above persons for the use of taxis, buses or underground trains in May and June 2010.

General Practitioners

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when he plans to implement his proposals for GP commissioning;
	(2)  whether he has plans to give GPs responsibility for commissioning  (a) hepatitis B and C and  (b) other specialist services; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The White Paper, 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS', published on 12 July 2010, sets out our intention to devolve power and responsibility for commissioning services to local consortiums of general practitioner (GP) practices. To support GP consortiums in their commissioning decisions, we will also create an independent National Health Service Commissioning Board. The White Paper proposes that the NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for commissioning national and regional specialised services, which may include some services for people with hepatitis.
	The White Paper sets out an indicative timetable, commencing with GP consortiums in place in shadow form during 2011-12.
	A further document setting out these proposals in more detail will be issued shortly, providing the basis for consultation and engagement with health and care professionals and with the public.

NHS

Kevin Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department provides to primary care trusts on consultation with patients and the public on reviewing or changing the  (a) provision of,  (b) funding of and  (c) access to a service it commissions individually or jointly with other primary care trusts.

Simon Burns: The Department has produced the following guidance for primary care trusts (PCTs) and other national health service bodies in meeting their responsibilities to involve and consult people in the planning of services and development of proposals for change:
	Leading Local Change and Changing for the Better: Guidance when Undertaking Major Changes to NHS Services (May 2008);
	Real Involvement-Working with People to Improve Health Services (October 2008); and
	Code of Practice on Consultation-BIS Guidance on consultations (2009).
	This does not include guidance to PCTs on consultation about funding of and access to services.

NHS: Discharges

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many delayed discharges there were from NHS hospitals in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: In 2009-10 quarter 4 (January to March) there were, on average at any given point, 2,433 acute patients, aged 18 plus, delayed and occupying a hospital bed who were eligible for discharge.
	Of these 2,433 acute patients, 77.4% (1,884) were aged 75 or over.
	On average at any given time over the quarter there were a further 1,417 non-acute patients whose discharges were also delayed.

Patient (Assisted Dying) Bill

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what files his Department holds on  (a) the Patient (Assisted Dying) Bill [Lords] of Session 2002-03 and  (b) the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill [Lords] of Session (i) 2003-04 and (ii) 2004-05; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Department holds one file on the Patient (Assisted Dying) Bill of Session 2002-03. The file is entitled "Patient Assisted Dying Bill".
	The Department holds one file on the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill of the 2003-04 and 2004-05 Sessions. The file is entitled "Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill".

Prescriptions

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to increase the level of take-up of information prescriptions.

Paul Burstow: The Department is providing implementation support to the national health service through the Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) programme for long-term conditions. In this, each participating team will implement information prescriptions for their chosen condition(s) in a way that best suits their local community. They will use the learning from this to implement information prescriptions for other long-term conditions, and will share their experiences with their peers.
	The Department has published guidance, and provided tools and resources to assist with the implementation of information prescriptions. These include an online resource toolkit, e-learning for health and social care staff and an organisational self-assessment toolkit. The Information Prescriptions Service
	www.nhs.uk/ips
	has recently been launched to give health and care professionals easy access to NHS information alongside quality-assured information from Britain's leading charities.
	Implementation of information prescriptions for people with long-term conditions is a matter for the NHS.

Prescriptions

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish his Department's implementation plan for the roll-out of information prescriptions; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: The Department has published guidance, and provided tools and resources to assist with the implementation of information prescriptions. These include an on-line resource toolkit, e-learning for health and social care staff and an organisational self-assessment toolkit. The Information Prescriptions Service
	www.nhs.uk/ips
	has recently been launched to give health and care professionals easy access to NHS information alongside quality-assured information from Britain's leading charities.
	The Department intends to publish an implementation plan for cancer information prescriptions in the autumn. This implementation plan will address a number of specific issues identified during piloting of information prescriptions for cancer patients.

Tobacco

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people work in his Department's tobacco policy team; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The tobacco policy team in the Department consists of seven whole-time equivalent civil servants. There are currently also five contract staff, primarily working in the area of smoking cessation delivery. The contract staff will have left the team by the end of March 2011.

Tobacco: Young People

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to tackle the  (a) purchase and  (b) consumption of tobacco by underage persons.

Anne Milton: Smoking is the biggest preventable cause of death. Discussions are taking place across Government to decide how best to tackle this problem in the context of our focus on public health, and our priorities given the challenges facing business competition and costs.
	These considerations include the issues of why children start smoking and how they get access to tobacco.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his policy is on delivery of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Mitchell: We are supporting the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) with £6 million in 2010 to support people in conflict affected areas to receive humanitarian assistance in accordance with International Humanitarian Law.
	I have recently commissioned a review of the Department for International Development's aid programmes, including the humanitarian programme in Afghanistan. I will make decisions following the outcome of this review.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Forestry

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to reduce the problem of deforestation related to production of charcoal in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo region.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for international Development (DFID) funded an appraisal of options for rural energy use in the Congo Basin in 2009. This included an assessment of the production of charcoal and improved conversion technologies that may reduce the impact on deforestation. The review provided options for addressing deforestation related to charcoal production that could be developed and potentially funded through the African Development Bank (AfDB) administered Congo Basin Forest Fund.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Forestry

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the merits of providing support to energy-saving stove projects in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) funded an appraisal of options for rural energy use in the Congo Basin in 2009. This included an assessment of reducing wood-fuel consumption by introducing improved stoves. The review provided options for addressing the fuel wood issue that could be developed and potentially funded through the African Development Bank (AfDB) administered Congo Basin Forest Fund.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Forestry

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what reports his Department has received on the plans of Democratic Republic of Congo's Government to increase the area of that country subject to industrial-scale logging;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effects of the Democratic Republic of Congo's extension of its forestry concession on current and future levels of global carbon dioxide emissions; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen O'Brien: As a participant and member of the World Bank administered Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), the Department for International Development (DFID) has received and reviewed the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Readiness Preparation Proposal (R-PP), submitted for grant funding from the FCPF's Readiness Fund. This document makes reference to the possible extension of DRC's forestry concession, but no time period for possible implementation is given.
	DFID officials are in contact with the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), who have confirmed that they have no current plans to extend this concession.

Departmental Manpower

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the salary costs of staff of his Department based in the UK are included in estimates of official development assistance.

Alan Duncan: The salary costs of DFID staff based in the UK are included in estimates of UK official development assistance (ODA). This is consistent with the guidelines of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) on calculating ODA.

Departmental Manpower

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what change there has been in the number of UK-based policy staff of his Department in the last five years.

Alan Duncan: Changes in the number of UK-based home civil servants (HCS) working principally on policy in the Department for International Development (DFID) over the last four years are set out in the following table. This includes HCS working as advisers in the UK and overseas and staff working in dedicated policy departments. Comparable information for the period prior to 31 March 2006 cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Date:  31 March 2006  31 March 2010 
			 Number of HCS policy staff 643 572 
			 Total number of HCS staff 1,847 1,619 
			 Percentage of total HCS staff 34.8 35.3

Departmental Manpower

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has for future changes in staffing levels at his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: In line with other Government Departments, the Department for International Development's (DFID's) administration budget will be set during the comprehensive spending review. After this review decisions will be made on DFID's staffing structure below the senior civil service (SCS). DFID intends to reduce SCS costs by 20% by 2013.

Forests: Carbon Emissions

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what work his Department undertakes on the establishment of a global forest carbon market.

Stephen O'Brien: The UK is working through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to reform the current framework for international carbon trading in order to deliver cost-effective global emissions reductions and increase finance flows to developing countries. In the long term, integrating forests into this framework is likely to be the most efficient, effective and equitable way of generating finance for reducing emissions from forestry.
	The UK is contributing £15 million to the Forest Carbon Partnership Forum (FCPF), which will work in a few pilot countries to test a carbon finance mechanism through a Carbon Fund. This fund is due to be launched by the end of 2010.

Haiti: Earthquakes

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his policy is on the provision of aid to Haiti; what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on this issue; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) responded to the earthquake in Haiti with £20 million in emergency support, which included a 64-person search and rescue team and helped provide more than 380,000 people with food, clean water and medical care. DFID has also pledged £2 million for initiatives to reduce Haiti's vulnerability to future disasters.
	UK support for reconstruction will be through our contributions to multilateral bodies such as the World Bank, the European Union and the Inter-American Development Bank. These bodies are best placed to lead on reconstruction with the Government of Haiti. The UK's share of the funds pledged by these multilaterals for reconstruction in 2010-11 is over $100 million. We will use our position in these bodies to press for aid to be delivered promptly and effectively. Assistance to Haiti is also regularly discussed in high level meetings with other donors, as well as international fora such as the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

Overseas Trade: Ethics

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will encourage British businesses to sign up to the Ethical Trading Initiative and UN Global Compact.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) strongly supports the Ethical Trading Initiative and the United Nations Global Compact. DFID will continue to encourage British businesses to sign up to these initiatives, which challenge poor labour standards around the world, drive practical measures to improve them, and support broader corporate responsibility.

EDUCATION

Academies

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many expressions of interest by schools in obtaining academy status have come from  (a) head teachers alone,  (b) head teachers and chairs of governors,  (c) chairs of governors alone and  (d) governing bodies of the school concerned.

Nick Gibb: The registration form to express an interest in becoming an academy does not request this information. If a school proceeds to submit an application to convert, that must be supported by confirmation that the governing body has passed a resolution agreeing to the application.

Academies: Salisbury

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when his Department expects to issue its decision on the application of Salisbury High School for academy status.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 6 July 2010
	The proposal for Salisbury High School to become an Academy is currently in its feasibility stage. We anticipate that the Secretary of State will make a decision on whether it will move into its implementation phase shortly.

Departmental Buildings

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its non-departmental public bodies spent on office refurbishment in each year since 1997.

Tim Loughton: Expenditure on office refurbishment by the Department and its predecessors for the years 2007-08 to 2009-10 is shown in the table. Details of amounts spent in earlier years and amounts spent by the Department's NDPBs are unable to be provided within the requested deadline as this would incur disproportionate costs.
	Expenditure on refurbishments during 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 was principally incurred as a result of an estate rationalisation and maintenance programme. The cost of the work was paid for in just over one year by the savings from vacating Caxton House. This saves approximately £13 million per annum in running costs.
	
		
			  Total spend by DFE on office refurbishments 
			  £ 
			 2007/08 6,827,036 
			 2008/09 4,099,898 
			 2009/10 3,585,353

Departmental ICT

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its non-departmental public bodies spent on information and communication technology in each year since 1997.

Tim Loughton: The information requested can be provided only by incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental NDPBs

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the address is of the head office of each non-departmental public body for which his Department is responsible.

Nick Gibb: The addresses requested are as follows:
	British Educational Communications and Technology Agency
	Millburn Hill Road
	Science Park
	Coventry
	CV4 7JJ
	Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service
	6th Floor
	Sanctuary Buildings
	Great Smith Street
	London
	SW1P 3BT
	Children's Workforce Development Council
	2nd Floor
	City Exchange
	11 Albion Street
	Leeds
	LS1 5ES
	National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services
	Triumph Road
	Nottingham
	NG8 1DH
	Office of the Children's Commissioner
	1 London Bridge
	London
	SE1 9BG
	Partnerships for Schools
	33 Greycoat Street
	London
	SW1P 2QF
	Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency
	53-55 Butts Road
	Earlsdon Park
	Coventry
	CV1 3BH
	School Food Trust
	3rd Floor
	2 St Paul's Place
	125 Norfolk St
	Sheffield
	S1 2JF
	Training and Development Agency for Schools
	City Tower
	Piccadilly Plaza
	Manchester
	M1 4TD
	The Young People's Learning Agency
	Cheylesmore House
	Quinton Road
	Coventry
	CV1 2WT

Departmental Official Hospitality

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its non-departmental public bodies spent on hospitality in each year since 1997.

Tim Loughton: The information requested cannot be supplied without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Expenditure

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much capital underspend his Department identified in each of the last five financial years.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 15 July 2010
	The following table sets out details of underspends on capital budgets for the last five years.
	
		
			  Underspend 
			   £ million 
			 2008-09 489.0 
			 2007-08 599.9 
			 2006-07 1,105.2 
			 2005-06 231.3 
			 2004-05 111.9 
		
	
	Data for 2009-10 are now being confirmed, and will be available in the Department's Annual Resource Accounts, which will be published in late July. The bulk of the underspends were caused by delays to the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, which related in part to the bureaucratic application process and partly also to local authorities' capacity to deliver to challenging timeframes.
	The Secretary of State announced on 5 July 2010 that BSF projects that had not reached financial close would be cancelled.

Departmental Speeches

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which  (a) (i) civil servants and (ii) special advisers in his Department and  (b) other individuals are employed to write speeches for each Minister in his Department.

Tim Loughton: The Department employs a team of five civil servants who support Ministers in the writing of their speeches. There are no special advisers employed to write speeches but, under the special advisers code of conduct, released by the Cabinet Office in June 2010, contributing to speeches can be part of a special adviser's role in supporting the wider ministerial team.

Departmental Training

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its non-departmental public bodies spent on employee awaydays in each year since 1997.

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education was established on 12 May 2010. Information on the away days for employees in the Department and predecessor Departments is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Health Education

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the national healthy schools programme; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Teather: We are currently reviewing the impact of this programme.

Parents: Local Government Services

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps are being taken to ensure a range of high-quality parenting programmes is available in the most disadvantaged areas.

Sarah Teather: The Government are providing £94 million nationally for targeted parenting and family interventions in 2010-11 aimed at families who are struggling to manage their children's behaviour. Local areas have discretion over how they organise their family and parenting support services as local people are better able to decide what will work best in their local community.
	The Department is working with the Children's Workforce Development Council and the National Academy for Parenting Research at King's College to ensure that evidence based parenting programmes and effective parenting interventions are available. This is through a number of research trials that gather evidence on the overall effectiveness, value for money and long-term cost effectiveness of family interventions against the high costs of a child being taken into care or being placed in a Young Offenders Institution. There is also ongoing work with the Centre for Excellence and Outcomes on sharing good and effective practice in parenting and family support.
	We are also working to improve the skills of the parenting work force and to look at what effectively addresses the needs of those working on the front-line. Around 1000 more practitioners across all local authorities will have the opportunity to access training in effective parenting programmes in 2010-11.

Schools

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has made an estimate of the average number of appropriate schools within two miles of home of a child in year  (a) one,  (b) seven and  (c) 12 in each local authority; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: A table containing the requested information for pupils in year one and year seven is shown as follows. The Department collects information in the School Census about Year 12 students attending sixth forms in schools only, we do not collect information about year 12 students in other sixth form provision eg sixth form colleges. Therefore the figures that the Department could supply from the School Census would only provide partial coverage, would not be representative of all sixth form activity and some local authority data and comparisons would be invalid because of differences in sixth form provision between local authorities.
	
		
			  Average number of appropriate( 1 ) schools within two miles by local authority of pupil residence( 2) -January 2010 
			National curriculum year group 
			  LA number  LA name  Year 1  Year 7 
			 201 City of London 97 16 
			 202 Camden 64 12 
			 203 Greenwich 40 6 
			 204 Hackney 86 16 
			 205 Hammersmith and Fulham 56 8 
			 206 Islington 84 14 
			 207 Kensington and Chelsea 64 11 
			 208 Lambeth 66 12 
			 209 Lewisham 53 9 
			 210 Southwark 80 14 
			 211 Tower Hamlets 84 16 
			 212 Wandsworth 51 9 
			 213 Westminster 64 11 
			 301 Barking and Dagenham 35 9 
			 302 Barnet 31 8 
			 303 Bexley 30 7 
			 304 Brent 41 10 
			 305 Bromley 23 5 
			 306 Croydon 29 7 
			 307 Ealing 34 9 
			 308 Enfield 33 8 
			 309 Haringey 58 12 
			 310 Harrow 27 19 
			 311 Havering 18 6 
			 312 Hillingdon 21 8 
			 313 Hounslow 27 7 
			 314 Kingston 23 5 
			 315 Merton 43 6 
			 316 Newham 58 12 
			 317 Redbridge 33 10 
			 318 Richmond upon Thames 26 6 
			 319 Sutton 28 7 
			 320 Waltham Forest 42 11 
			 330 Birmingham 37 8 
			 331 Coventry 29 6 
			 332 Dudley 24 6 
			 333 Sandwell 32 7 
			 334 Solihull 19 5 
			 335 Walsall 27 6 
			 336 Wolverhampton 27 7 
			 340 Knowsley 22 4 
			 341 Liverpool 33 7 
			 342 St Helens 17 3 
			 343 Sefton 19 5 
			 344 Wirral 20 4 
			 350 Bolton 29 5 
			 351 Bury 24 5 
			 352 Manchester 39 6 
			 353 Oldham 37 7 
			 354 Rochdale 23 5 
			 355 Salford 28 6 
			 356 Stockport 28 5 
			 357 Tameside 29 5 
			 358 Trafford 24 6 
			 359 Wigan 19 4 
			 370 Barnsley 13 2 
			 371 Doncaster 11 2 
			 372 Rotherham 14 3 
			 373 Sheffield 20 4 
			 380 Bradford 30 5 
			 381 Calderdale 17 3 
			 382 Kirklees 18 4 
			 383 Leeds 22 4 
			 384 Wakefield 13 2 
			 390 Gateshead 23 3 
			 391 Newcastle upon Tyne 27 4 
			 392 North Tyneside 20 5 
			 393 South Tyneside 24 5 
			 394 Sunderland 17 4 
			 420 Isles of Scilly 1 1 
			 800 Bath and North East Somerset 9 2 
			 801 Bristol, City of 27 6 
			 802 North Somerset 8 2 
			 803 South Gloucestershire 15 3 
			 805 Hartlepool 17 3 
			 806 Middlesbrough 25 5 
			 807 Redcar and Cleveland 11 3 
			 808 Stockton-on-Tees 18 4 
			 810 Kingston upon Hull, City of 25 4 
			 811 East Riding of Yorkshire 6 1 
			 812 North East Lincolnshire 15 4 
			 813 North Lincolnshire 8 2 
			 815 North Yorkshire 5 1 
			 816 York 14 3 
			 821 Luton 22 6 
			 822 Bedford Borough 12 4 
			 823 Central Bedfordshire 9 3 
			 825 Buckinghamshire 8 2 
			 826 Milton Keynes 16 3 
			 830 Derbyshire 9 2 
			 831 Derby 19 4 
			 835 Dorset 4 1 
			 836 Poole 11 8 
			 837 Bournemouth 13 5 
			 840 Durham 8 2 
			 841 Darlington 14 3 
			 845 East Sussex 7 2 
			 846 Brighton and Hove 19 4 
			 850 Hampshire 8 2 
			 851 Portsmouth 21 6 
			 852 Southampton 20 5 
			 855 Leicestershire 9 2 
			 856 Leicester 29 6 
			 857 Rutland 3 1 
			 860 Staffordshire 11 3 
			 861 Stoke-on-Trent 21 5 
			 865 Wiltshire 6 1 
			 866 Swindon 18 4 
			 867 Bracknell Forest 13 3 
			 868 Windsor and Maidenhead 10 3 
			 869 West Berkshire 8 2 
			 870 Reading 21 3 
			 871 Slough 14 7 
			 872 Wokingham 11 3 
			 873 Cambridgeshire 6 1 
			 874 Peterborough 16 4 
			 876 Halton 20 3 
			 877 Warrington 19 3 
			 878 Devon 5 1 
			 879 Plymouth 21 5 
			 880 Torbay 12 3 
			 881 Essex 10 2 
			 882 Southend-on-Sea 14 4 
			 883 Thurrock 11 3 
			 884 Herefordshire 5 1 
			 885 Worcestershire 10 3 
			 886 Kent 9 3 
			 887 Medway 18 5 
			 888 Lancashire 15 3 
			 889 Blackburn with Darwen 23 5 
			 890 Blackpool 17 5 
			 891 Nottinghamshire 12 3 
			 892 Nottingham 30 5 
			 893 Shropshire 5 1 
			 894 Telford and Wrekin 12 3 
			 895 Cheshire East 9 2 
			 896 Cheshire West and Chester 11 2 
			 908 Cornwall 4 1 
			 909 Cumbria 7 1 
			 916 Gloucestershire 10 2 
			 919 Hertfordshire 14 3 
			 921 Isle of Wight 5 2 
			 925 Lincolnshire 5 2 
			 926 Norfolk 7 2 
			 928 Northamptonshire 11 2 
			 929 Northumberland 6 3 
			 931 Oxfordshire 8 2 
			 933 Somerset 6 2 
			 935 Suffolk 8 2 
			 936 Surrey 10 2 
			 937 Warwickshire 9 2 
			 938 West Sussex 9 2 
			 
			  England 20 4 
			 (1) Appropriate schools are based on the statutory age range of schools and the gender of the school. For year 1 pupils maintained primary schools and academies. For year 7 pupils maintained secondary, city technology colleges and academies. The school's admissions policy and religious character are not taken into account. Does not include special schools. (2) Pupils who are resident within the LA boundary but schools could be located outside LA boundary.  Notes: Data is taken from the School Census 2010 and so includes information only from those schools who made a census return. The number of schools within two miles is based on the straight line distance between the pupil's postcode and the school's postcode.  Source: School Census 2010

Schools: Discipline

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to improve discipline in schools.

Nick Gibb: It is this Government's intention to give heads and teachers the powers they need to ensure discipline in the classroom and promote good behaviour. In a statement to the House on 7 July I announced that we will take steps to strengthen teachers' powers to search pupils; issue shorter and clearer guidance on the use of force; and remove the requirement to give 24 hours written notice when giving pupils detentions. We will also give teachers the strongest possible protection from false accusations.

Schools: Finance

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to his letter of 16 June 2010 to directors of children's services and local authority chief executives, what representations he has received on changes in support for school activities through the local delivery support grant following the proposed change to the funding level provided to local authorities through that grant.

Nick Gibb: The Secretary of State for Education has not received any representations on the changes to the local delivery support grant funding announced on 16 June 2010 to local authorities.

Schools: Management

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many proposals for free schools have been received from groups in  (a) Enfield North constituency,  (b) the Enfield local education authority area and  (c) England.

Nick Gibb: As of 7 July 2010, the Department for Education has received the following numbers of free school proposal forms:
	 (a) 0 proposals from groups in Enfield North constituency;
	 (b) 0 proposals from groups in Enfield local authority;
	 (c) 34 proposals from groups in England.

Young People: Unemployed

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the likely effects on careers advice and support for young people not in employment, education or training of recent reductions in local authorities' area-based grant allocations.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 7 July 2010
	The savings from the Department for Education's Area Based Grant (ABG) to local authorities are part of the local government contribution to deficit reduction in 2010-11, which represents a 3.6% cut in funding to local authorities. We expect them to consider the need for savings across all areas of expenditure, regardless of whether the initial source of funding is formula or area based, taking account of their statutory responsibilities and of the Government's commitment to protecting front line services wherever possible. The reduction in ABG does not imply a direct cut to those services funded by the grant, which include careers advice and support for young people not in employment, education or training.

INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS AUTHORITY COMMITTEE

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: Members

Richard Bacon: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority how many claims by hon. Members were received by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) on  (a) 23 June 2010,  (b) 24 June 2010,  (c) 25 June 2010,  (d) 28 June 2010,  (e) 29 June 2010,  (f) 30 June 2010,  (g) 1 July 2010,  (h) 2 July 2010,  (i) 5 July 2010 and  (j) 6 July 2010; what the total monetary value was of claims for which IPSA completed payment on each such day; and what the average administrative cost to IPSA was per transaction, including all expenditure by IPSA since its inception.

Charles Walker: The claims received and paid out on the relevant days are shown in the following table. The amounts have been rounded to the nearest pound.
	
		
			  2010 
			   23 June  24 June  25 June  28 June  29 June  30 June  1  July  2  July  5  July  6  July 
			 Claims received 198 213 163 136 446 298 391 150 381 353 
			 Amount paid out (£) 6,192 31,633 20,486 21,726 0.00 42,222 6,725 63,581 49,965 30,275 
		
	
	IPSA has advised me that any calculation of the average cost to IPSA per transaction to date, including all expenditure incurred by IPSA since its inception, would not provide an accurate reflection of the transaction cost. IPSA is exploring the best way to present these data and will provide an average cost per transaction after its first sixth months of operation and again after its first full year.

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: Members

David Winnick: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority what further consideration has been given for claims by hon. Members to be made on paper with all supporting evidence.

Charles Walker: IPSA has advised me that the merits of introducing a paper-based system for claiming expenses were considered during the start-up phase of IPSA. It was concluded that in line with current expectations of IT-led delivery within the public sector, it would be inappropriate to design a new expenses process which was not based at least in part on an IT-led solution.
	IPSA remains of the view that an IT-led, rather than paper-based, system is most appropriate. Using an IT-led solution allows IPSA to achieve a high level of transparency more easily and cheaply than an equivalent manual approach. It will also allow any future changes to processes to be more easily implemented.
	IPSA does not intend to introduce a parallel, paper-based system for MPs' expenses.

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: Members

David Winnick: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority what the average length of time taken by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority is from receipt to payment of a claim by an hon. Member.

Charles Walker: As of 13 July 2010, the average time from receipt of correct supporting documents to payment is 15 working days. IPSA's steady state target is for this period to reduce to 12 working days by the last quarter of 2010.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Decent Homes Programme

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has for the future of the Decent Homes programme.

Grant Shapps: The Government believe all social housing should meet a minimum standard of decency. But I must remind the hon. Member that the last Government left a legacy of a capital investment backlog of £3.2 billion in council housing. They also left a legacy of high public sector borrowing which we cannot sustain. Future funding for the Decent Homes programme will be decided in the context of the Government's spending review.

Business Rates: Small Businesses

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to assist small businesses with payment of business rate bills.

Bob Neill: We are doubling the level of small business rate relief in England for one year, from 1 October 2010. Over half a million businesses in England are expected to benefit, with approximately 345,000 businesses paying no rates. We are also committed to finding a practical way to make SBRR automatic.

Local Authorities: Debt Advice

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will assess the effect on the provision of local authority debt advice services of a reduction in local authority funding; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: Many thousands of indebted clients are helped each week through Government programmes such as the Financial Inclusion Fund and the Community Legal Advice service and by local authorities through their support for third party provision. Local authorities are free to make their own decisions about where savings in 2010-11 are found.

Housing Market Renewal

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has for changes to the funding of the Housing Market Renewal scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: The long-term plans for programmes such as Housing Market Renewal will be set out by the Government after the spending review later in the year.

Strata Homes

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the value for money of the Homes and Communities Agency KickStart grant given to Strata Homes in Retford.

Grant Shapps: The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) undertook a rigorous due diligence process to assess all shortlisted Kickstart schemes. A core eligibility criteria was value for money. Any scheme, such as Strata Homes in Retford, which has passed due diligence will have met these criteria.

Chief Fire Officers Association

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much Government funding has been allocated to the Chief Fire Officers' Association in each year since 2005. [R]

Bob Neill: Funding provided to the Chief Fire Officers' Association since 2005 is as follows:
	
		
			  £000 
			   CFOA  National Resilience( 1)  FiReControl( 2) 
			 2005-06 815 - 206.6 
			 2006-07 723.4 - 246.2 
			 2007-08 760.1 - 199.6 
			 2008-09 505 2,561.1 250.2 
			 2009-10 470 5,420 317.4 
			 2010-11 (YTD) (3)- 2,773.3 83.7 
			 (1) Payments to CFOA National Resilience Ltd to provide the on-going governance and assurance function for the fire and rescue service's major national incident capability, including staffing; centralised training; and asset refresh costs. (2) Secondment of specialist staff to the project. (3) Not yet agreed.

Departmental Legal Costs

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on legal advice in each year since 1997.

Bob Neill: The following table shows total spend on legal advice for the last financial year for  (a) the Department and  (b) its agencies and non-departmental bodies. Details of expenditure in earlier years could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  2009-10  Total (£) 
			 Communities and Local Government 9,564,505 
			 Government Office Network 54,714 
			 Planning Inspectorate 0 
			 Fire Service College 41,659 
			 Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre 0 
			 Housing and Communities Agency 11,913,217 
			 Ordnance Survey 765,889 
			 FireBuy 693,685 
			 Audit Commission 0 
			 Lease 3,000 
			 Valuation Tribunal Service 55,567 
			 Tenant Service Authority 0 
			 Community Development Fund 19,646 
			 Housing Ombudsman 24,702 
			 Standards Board 0 
			 London Thames Gateway Development Corporation 1,197,041 
			 Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation 996,364 
			 West Northamptonshire Development Corporation 360,657 
			 Total 25,690,648

Departmental Location

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to relocate  (a) civil servants and  (b) Government bodies for which his Department is responsible (i) out of London and (ii) to the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: The location of public sector activity and plans for the Government's estate will be considered alongside other public spending issues over the course of the spending review.

Fire Services

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what his policy is on the proposed transfer of Essex County Fire and Rescue Service Control Centre; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what his policy is on regionalisation of fire service control rooms; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Coventry South (Mr Cunningham) on 17 June 2010,  Official Report, column 526W.

Fire Services

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if the Minister in his Department with responsibility for the fire service will meet representatives of fire service trade unions in  (a) Southend and  (b) Essex to discuss plans for regionalisation of fire service control rooms; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, as the employer of control room staff, is the local body with which the trade unions should discuss plans for fire service control rooms.
	Joint consultative committees have been set up in many parts of the country to discuss the implications of transfers with representative bodies at the appropriate level including, I understand, in Essex and the rest of the East of England.
	At the national level, I hold regular meetings with representative bodies on a range of fire issues, including the FiReControl project.

Fire Services: Crimes of Violence

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many attacks have been recorded on members of fire crews in  (a) Essex and  (b) the Metropolitan police area of London in each of the last 10 years.

Bob Neill: The Department has been collecting figures on attacks on firefighters based on returns from Fire and Rescue Authorities since 2004. The following table shows the number of attacks in Essex Fire and Rescue Authority and London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority reported to the Department. We do not yet have information for 2009-10.
	
		
			  Number of attacks notified to CLG by year of incident and FRA 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Essex n/a 17 17 6 15 
			 London n/a 10 15 6 11

Government Office for the North East

Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has for the future of the Government office for the north-east.

Bob Neill: The coalition Government's 'programme for government' published on 20 May stated that
	"we will abolish the Government office for London and consider the case for abolishing the remaining Government offices".
	We are currently discussing this with interested parties, including the trades unions.
	This proposal is part of our broad agenda on decentralisation, transferring power and influence to local people and local authorities, and removing the bureaucracy of the regional state.

Local Government Finance

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the  (a) number of redundancies and  (b) the Government's planned changes in the level of redundancy payments which would be required to make the Government's planned savings in local government expenditure.

Bob Neill: Savings in local government expenditure-and the implications of those savings-are being considered as part of the spending review. Redundancy decisions are for individual councils to take within the discretions provided by the Local Government (Early Termination of Employment) (Discretionary Compensation) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006.

Local Government Finance: Sunderland

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to written ministerial statement of 10 June 2010,  Official Report, columns 16-17WS, on the local government savings package, what assessment he has made of the effects on Sunderland local authority of the reduction in the funding allocated by his Department to the Working Neighbourhoods Fund.

Bob Neill: Tackling the UK's record deficit is the Government's top priority, and we believe that it is right that local authorities make a contribution to the efficiency savings of £6.2 billion in 2010-11. We have adopted a fair approach to the reductions in grants and funding streams and have limited the amount councils lose. The impact on the area of reductions in grants this year will be for the local authority to decide. We have ensured that councils, including Sunderland, are able to deliver essential frontline services by making no changes to the £29 billion they receive through formula grant and by increasing flexibility for local spending decisions through removing restrictions on how they spend their money.

Local Government: Manpower

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of local authority staff in the category of  (a) employed and  (b) contracted out under agreements which have time to run the terms and conditions of which cannot be changed in the next three years.

Bob Neill: The information requested is not held centrally. The terms and conditions of local authority staff are matters for each council as the employer.

Non-domestic Rates

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the Budget Red Book 2010, page 27, section 1.67, when the Government plan to bring forward legislation to cancel backdated business rates bills for newly assessed properties that were split from a larger rateable property.

Bob Neill: We are committed to bringing forward primary legislation at the earliest opportunity to cancel the backdated element of certain backdated business rates bills.

Planning

Simon Reevell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when his Department plans to publish its National Planning Framework; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: In the coalition agreement the Government stated that they will publish and present to Parliament a simple and consolidated national planning framework covering all forms of development. Work is under way to prepare this framework and it will be presented to Parliament when it is complete. We will be making an announcement on how we propose to take forward the national planning framework and the implications for specific areas of planning policy.

Property Development: Floods

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he next plans to review planning guidance in relation to development on flood plains.

Bob Neill: The coalition programme states that the Government will radically reform the planning system to give neighbourhoods far more ability to determine the shape of the places in which their inhabitants live. The programme also states that the Government will prevent unnecessary building in areas of high flood risk. We will publish and present to Parliament a simple and consolidated national planning policy framework covering all forms of development and setting out national economic, environmental and social priorities. We will make an announcement on how we propose to take forward the national planning framework and the implications for specific areas of planning policy shortly.

Rescue Services: Finance

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much public funding was provided for urban search and rescue teams deployed overseas in each of the last three financial years.

Alan Duncan: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) has provided funding for search and rescue in two emergency responses since 2007-08:
	(i) £233,000 for the Indonesia Pedang earthquake in September 2009; and
	(ii) £451,000 in January 2010 for the Haiti earthquake.
	DFID has also provided £60,000 in both 2007-08 and 2008-09 and £80,410 in 2009-10 to the UK fire and rescue service to maintain preparedness and readiness to deploy within 12 hours.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Speeches

Angela Smith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which  (a) (i) civil servants and (ii) special advisers in his Office and  (b) other individuals are employed to write speeches for each Minister in his Office.

Nicholas Clegg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office earlier today.

Electoral Commission

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he plans to bring forward proposals for the abolition or reform of the Electoral Commission.

Mark Harper: The Government have set out a major programme of political reform and will consider the implications for the delivery of elections in due course.

Electoral Systems: Referendums

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what consideration he has given to the merits of participation by Ministers in televised debates as part of the campaign for a proposed referendum on the adoption of the alternative vote system for voting at general elections.

Mark Harper: The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 provides that each designated lead campaign organisation at a referendum is entitled to referendum campaign broadcasts.
	Whether any televised debates are additionally held would be a matter for discussion between potential participants and television broadcasters closer to the time.

Electoral Systems: Referendums

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will estimate the costs to the public purse other than those borne by central Government arising from administration of the proposed referendum on adopting the alternative vote system for general elections in respect of  (a) local authorities in (i) England, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Wales and (iv) Northern Ireland,  (b) the Scottish Executive and  (c) the Welsh Assembly Government.

Mark Harper: No such estimate has been made, but savings from combination are shared between all polls. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 14 July 2010,  Official Report, column 798W.

Electoral Systems: Referendums

Pete Wishart: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the proposed referendum on electoral reform when  (a) held on its own and  (b) combined with elections to the devolved bodies.

Mark Harper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 14 July 2010,  Official Report, column 798W.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Equal Pay: Gender

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps the Government is taking to reduce the gender pay gap; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa May: holding answer 8 July 2010
	 In the Coalition's programme for government, we set out our commitment to promote equal pay and to take a range of measures to end discrimination in the workplace. In October we will bring section 77 of the Equality Act 2010 into force, ensuring employees can discuss their own pay freely in order to discover whether their pay is discriminatory. We are considering what further measures are necessary to ensure equal pay between women and men and ensure the fair treatment of women in the workplace.
	We will also take other steps to improve the position of women at work, for example by extending the right to request flexible working and encouraging shared parenting, including the promotion of a system of flexible parental leave.

Equality: Legislation

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what plans she has to enforce the positive action clauses of the Equality Act 2010.

Theresa May: holding answer 12 July 2010
	The general positive action provisions in the Equality Act 2010, together with the positive action provisions for political parties will come into force in October 2010.
	We are currently considering our next steps in relation to the positive action provisions relating specifically to recruitment and promotion, and we will make an announcement in due course.

TREASURY

Bank Levy

Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria he plans to use to define the institutions and companies which are to be subject to the proposed banking levy; and whether he proposes that all lending institutions should fall within this definition.

Mark Hoban: As announced at the Budget, the Government will shortly be consulting on the technical details of the design and implementation of the bank levy. The consultation document is available at
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/consult_bank_levy.htm
	The levy will apply to banks, building societies and banking groups. It will not apply to other forms of lending institution and there are no plans at present to extend its scope.

Banks: Finance

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to the Exchequer has been of support to the banking industry during the recent economic downturn; and whether these costs will be reimbursed through the sale of equity in the banks.

Mark Hoban: The impact on the Exchequer of the financial interventions and Bank of England schemes were published in annex B of the June Budget
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/junebudget_annexb.pdf.
	HM Treasury will publish an updated estimate of the cost of financial sector interventions in future Budgets.

Budget Responsibility Committee

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the selection process was for members of the Budget Responsibility Committee who took the final decision on appointment of the members; and on what terms and conditions these members were appointed.

Justine Greening: The appointments to the interim Budget Responsibility Committee (BRC) were undertaken on an expedited basis to ensure the Office for Budget Responsibility could perform its functions for the emergency Budget. The Treasury appointed Geoffrey Dicks and Graham Parker at the recommendation of Sir Alan Budd. The terms and conditions for the interim BRC members are available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/8174.htm

Car Allowances

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to increase from 40p per mile for the first 10,000 miles the rate at which employees may use their own vehicles tax free.

David Gauke: The approved mileage allowance payments (AMAPs) system was introduced in April 2002 and the rate has remained unchanged since that date.
	The Government keep the rates under regular review. The Government consider that the mileage rates are sufficiently high to cover the business motoring expenses of most drivers.

Cheques

Therese Coffey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make representations to the Payments Council to reverse its decision to withdraw cheques.

Mark Hoban: The Payments Council has not taken a decision to withdraw cheques. It will decide in 2016 whether to close the cheque clearing system by 2018. Cheques should only be withdrawn if suitable alternatives are available. Some of the alternatives have yet to be developed, and these must be tested and shown to be working successfully. The Payments Council will report on this and the Government are monitoring progress.

Child Benefit

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 6 July 2010,  Official Report, column 183W, on child benefit, when he expects to be able to provide figures for the number of  (a) mothers who receive child benefit and  (b) children who trigger payments in Worlsey and Eccles South constituency.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 6 July 2010,  Official Report, column 183W, on child benefit, when he expects to publish figures for the number of  (a) mothers who receive child benefit and  (b) children who trigger child benefit payments in Houghton and Sunderland South constituency.

David Gauke: The next publication covering the number of families receiving child benefit from August 2010 is due to be published on HMRC's website in February 2011. This will include analysis by the latest parliamentary constituencies.
	The latest information on the number of families receiving child benefit, by each parliamentary constituency, local authority and region is available in the HMRC snapshot publication "Child Benefit Statistics Geographical Analysis. August 2009". This can be found at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/child_benefit/chb-geog-aug09.pdf

Child Benefit: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households on low incomes in  (a) Dudley borough and  (b) Dudley North constituency have received child benefit in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: This information is available only at disproportionate cost.
	The latest information on the number of families receiving child benefit, by each parliamentary constituency, local authority and region is available in the HMRC snapshot publication 'Child Benefit Statistics Geographical Analysis. August 2009'. This can be found at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/child_benefit/chb-geog-aug09.pdf

Child Tax Credit: West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in  (a) the West Midlands,  (b) Dudley borough and  (c) Dudley North constituency have received child tax credit in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: Estimates of the average number of recipient families and their entitlements to tax credits, by county, local authority and parliamentary constituency, for 2006-10, are available in the HMRC snapshot publications "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics Geographical Analyses April 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010". These are available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm

Child Tax Credit: West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in  (a) Dudley borough and  (b) Dudley North constituency in the income band of £41,000 to £50,000 have received child tax credit in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: Analysis of the number of households with incomes between £41,000 and £50,000 in the aforementioned constituencies is shown in the following table. This information is based on provisional information of families receiving tax credits.
	
		
			  Families receiving tax credits with incomes between £41,000 and £50,000 
			   Dudley North  Dudley borough 
			 2006 535 1,800 
			 2007 575 2,110 
			 2008 540 2,095 
			 2009 595 2,345 
			 2010 620 2,335 
		
	
	Further details about the snapshot data used for this analysis can be found in the HMRC snapshot publications 'Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics Geographical Analyses April 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010'. These are available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm

Child Tax Credit: West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in  (a) the West Midlands,  (b) Dudley Borough and  (c) Dudley North constituency claim child tax credit.

David Gauke: Businesses are not entitled to claim child tax credits.

Corporation Tax

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on each industrial sector of the proposed reforms to the corporation tax regime in the June 2010 Budget.

David Gauke: The reforms to the corporate tax regime announced at the emergency Budget show that the UK is open for business. The impact of the corporate tax reforms will vary across industrial sectors depending on their capital intensity and profitability. The corporate tax burden will fall by over £2 billion per year once all the measures have fully taken effect. The manufacturing, sector will see a significant reduction in its corporate tax burden.

Departmental Buildings

Robert Halfon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department and its agencies have spent on relaxation rooms in their properties in each year since 1997.

Justine Greening: Neither the Treasury nor its agencies have incurred any expenditure on relaxation rooms since 2002-03. Information on spending prior to that date is not available due to a change in accounting system.

Departmental Data Protection

Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department retains information on its former employees who worked on tax policy who have  (a) resigned and  (b) retired and subsequently found employment in (i) tax advisory companies and (ii) tax law practices.

Justine Greening: HM Treasury would only retain this information on ex-employees working on tax policy if within two years of leaving they were being considered for any employment for which they would be required to seek permission under the HM Treasury Business Appointment Rules.
	The Advisory Committee on Business Appointment Rules publishes this information on an annual basis and is available online at:
	http://acoba.independent.gov.uk/publications.aspx

Departmental Reorganisation

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to relocate officials working in his Department from central London to Bassetlaw.

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to relocate  (a) civil servants and  (b) Government bodies for which his Department is responsible (i) out of London and (ii) to the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement.

Justine Greening: The location of public sector activity and plans for the Government's estate will be considered alongside other public spending issues over the course of the Spending Review.

Rents: Edinburgh

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the  (a) 50th percentile rent in 2010-11 and  (b) 30th percentile rent in 2011-12 for properties of (i) one, (ii) two, (iii) three, (iv) four and (v) five bedrooms in Edinburgh East constituency.

David Gauke: This is a matter for the devolved Administration.

Revenue and Customs: Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the annual expenditure by HM Revenue and Customs on  (a) rent,  (b) rates and  (c) maintenance in relation to premises in Northern Ireland.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) estimate of expenditure for 2010-11 in relation to its premises in Northern Ireland is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Estimated expenditure 2010-11 
			  Expenditure type  £000,  net of VAT 
			 Mapeley contract unitary charge 5,112 
			 Rent 691 
			 Rates 1,387 
			 Maintenance 237 
		
	
	The majority of HMRC's premises in Northern Ireland, along with the rest of its estate, were included in the 2001 Strategic Transfer of the Estate to the Private Sector (STEPS) outsourcing deal with Mapeley. Under the terms of the contract with Mapeley, HMRC receives the benefit of fully serviced and maintained accommodation in exchange for an inclusive, property specific unitary charge. As HMRC do not make separate rent or maintenance payments the estimated annual unitary charge expenditure has been provided for these premises.
	HMRC occupies four premises in Northern Ireland by way of sharing arrangements with other Government Departments. For three of these properties-Crown Buildings, Antrim; Windsor House, Belfast; and Crown Buildings, Omagh-the accommodation charge incurred is fully inclusive and the rent and maintenance costs cannot be separately identified. These costs are included in the estimate of rent expenditure, in line with how they are reported in HMRC's accounts.

Royal Liverpool University Hospital

Louise Ellman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department's review of recent expenditure decisions will include a review of planned funding to rebuild Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 2 June 2010
	The Government have now completed its review spending commitments approved since 1 January 2010. A full list of the projects not selected for suspension or cancellation as part of this exercise has been deposited in the Library of the House (DEP2010-1327).

Tax Avoidance: Self-employed

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to repeal the IR35 legislative provisions on intermediaries.

David Gauke: The Government confirmed in the emergency Budget that they are committed to carrying out a review of IR35. Further details will be announced shortly.

Taxation: Business

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in  (a) the West Midlands and  (b) Dudley borough had used the HM Revenue and Customs' Time to Pay programme on the most recent date for which figures are available.

David Gauke: HMRC collates information on the number and value of time to pay arrangements granted through the Business Payment Support Service (BPSS).
	At any point in time a business may have more than one arrangement covering its different tax liabilities. A business may be granted a number of successive arrangements.
	Following contact with the BPSS between 24 November 2008 and 4 July 2010:
	30,900 arrangements spreading payments covering tax debts worth £540 million have been granted to businesses in the west midlands; and
	1,870 arrangements spreading payments covering tax debts worth £39 million have been granted to businesses in Dudley borough.

Taxation: Holiday Accommodation

Michael Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what date he has set for the conclusion of his Department's consultation on the tax treatment of furnished holiday lettings;
	(2)  with reference to the answer of 16 December 2009,  Official Report, column 1383W, on taxation: holiday accommodation, how many responses  (a) his Department and  (b) HM Revenue and Customs received from operators of long-term residential lets on proposals to extend furnished holiday lettings relief to operators of self-catering holiday properties; and how many such responses sought the abolition of such relief;
	(3)  with reference to the answer of 5 January 2010,  Official Report, column 177W, on taxation: holiday accommodation, who the interested parties were with whom meetings were held;
	(4)  if he will direct HM Revenue and Customs to examine the tax treatment of rented furnished accommodation in French law for the purposes of its consultation on compliance of UK rules with EU law;
	(5)  if he will direct HM Revenue and Customs to write to each respondent to the original consultation on furnished holiday letting rules to invite a response to the fresh consultation.

David Gauke: The Government will hold a public consultation over the summer on the furnished holiday lettings tax rules. The consultation will last for 12 weeks.
	Government Ministers and officials have discussions and meetings with a wide variety of organisations as part of the process of policy development and delivery. It is not the Government's practice to provide details of all representations made or meetings held.
	HM Revenue and Customs is aware of the French system for taxing furnished accommodation.
	The Government do not intend to write to everybody who responded to the 2009 consultation but we will act to publicise the consultation and ensure the main tourism industry groups are told when the documents are published so they can alert their members.

VAT: Construction

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the effect on the number of jobs in the construction sector of a reduction of five per cent. in the standard rate of value added tax.

David Gauke: No such estimate has been made.
	However, to compensate for the revenue lost from reducing the standard rate of VAT by 5%, an increase in another tax would be needed. Since VAT is a relatively efficient tax, economically, the net result with an increase of another tax would be the likely loss of jobs across the economy.

VAT: West Midlands

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in  (a) the West Midlands,  (b) Dudley borough and  (c) Dudley North constituency were registered for value added tax in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many new businesses registered for value added tax in the same period.

David Gauke: The existing population of VAT registered businesses and the number of businesses that registered for VAT during the year, for years since 2005, is shown for the west midlands region; the west midlands metropolitan county; the borough of Dudley; and Dudley North constituency in the following two tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: The number of enterprises registered for VAT at the start of the year 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 West midlands region 157,585 160,780 163,405 167,075 
			 West midlands county 60,195 61,375 62,325 63,500 
			 Borough of Dudley 7,950 8,125 8,255 8,420 
			 Dudley North 1,715 1,765 1,770 1,840 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: The number of enterprises registering for VAT each year 
			   2005  2006  2007 
			 West midlands region 14,815 14,785 15,720 
			 West midlands county 6,245 6,185 6,540 
			 Borough of Dudley 780 765 785 
			 Dudley North 180 165 210 
		
	
	These figures came from the report 'Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations', published by The Department for Businesses Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in November 2008. This report is no longer published.

Welfare Tax Credits

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 6 July 2010,  Official Report, column 186W, on welfare tax credits, when he expects to be able to publish information on the number of households in Worsley and Eccles South constituency which receive tax credits.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 6 July 2010,  Official Report, column 186W, on welfare tax credit, when he expects to provide figures for the number of households in Houghton and Sunderland South constituency which receive tax credits;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 7 July 2010,  Official Report, columns 298-9W, on welfare tax credit, when he expects to be able to provide figures for the number of households in Houghton and Sunderland South constituency who receive tax credits and have an income of over £30,000.

David Gauke: The information requested will be available from the HMRC website in December 2010. This will include analysis by the latest parliamentary constituencies.
	The latest information on the number of families with children benefiting from child and working tax credits, by each parliamentary constituency, local authority and region is available in the HMRC snapshot publication 'Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Geographical Analyses. April 2010'. This can be found at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-apr2010.pdf

Welfare Tax Credits

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of households which will lose income as a result of the implementation of his proposals to  (a) reduce the tax credit second income threshold to £40,000,  (b) increase the first and second withdrawal rate to 41 per cent.,  (c) taper the family element of child tax credit immediately after the child element,  (d) remove the baby element of child tax credit,  (e) remove the 50 plus element of working tax credit,  (f) reverse the child tax credit supplement for children aged one and two years,  (g) reduce the income disregard from (i) £25,000 to £10,000, (ii) £10,000 to £5,000,  (h) introduce an income disregard of £2,500 for falls in income and  (i) reduce the backdating of tax credits for changes of circumstances from three months to one month in each year from 2011-12 to 2014-15; and what estimate he has made of the average change in total household income consequent on the implementation of each such proposal in each such year in (A) cash and (B) real terms in (1) the West Midlands, (2) Dudley borough and (3) Dudley North constituency.

David Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Helen Goodman) on 28 June 2010,  Official Report, column 460W.

Welfare Tax Credits: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the implementation of proposals in the June 2010 Budget on those resident in  (a) Dudley borough and  (b) Dudley North constituency who are in receipt of (i) child benefit and (ii) tax credits; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The information requested is not available.
	The effect of the Budget is modelled based on data from the Family Resources Survey, which does not contain a large enough sample to produce results at a local authority or constituency level.

Welfare Tax Credits: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in  (a) Dudley borough and  (b) Dudley North constituency in the annual income band of (i) £10,000 to £20,000, (ii) £21,000 to £30,000, (iii) £31,000 to £40,000, (iv) £41,000 to £50,000, (v) £51,000 to £60,000 and (vi) £60,000 or more are in receipt of tax credits.

David Gauke: This information is published in the HMRC publication 'Household Income distribution of Tax Credits families by Westminster Constituency-April 2010', a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library and will be published on HMRC's website shortly.

Welfare Tax Credits: Edinburgh

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households in receipt of tax credits in Edinburgh East constituency have an income of over £30,000.

David Gauke: This information is published in the HMRC publication 'Household income distribution of tax credits families by Westminster constituency-April 2010', a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library and will be published on HMRC's website shortly.

Welfare Tax Credits: Scotland

Jim Murphy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households in receipt of tax credits in each parliamentary constituency in Scotland have an income of over £30,000.

David Gauke: This information is published in the HMRC publication "Household Income distribution of Tax Credits families by Westminster Constituency-April 2010", a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library and will be published on HMRC's website shortly.

Welfare Tax Credits: Stirling

Anne McGuire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households in receipt of tax credits in Stirling have an income of over £30,000.

David Gauke: The number of households in receipt of tax credits in Stirling with an income over £30,000 as at April 2010 was 2,090.
	These estimates are based on provisional information on families receiving tax credits as at April 2010. Further details about this data can be found in the HMRC snapshot publication "Child and Working Tax Credits. Geographical Analysis, April 2010". This is available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm

Working Tax Credit

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he made of the number of  (a) working tax credit over-payments and  (b) changes to levels of earnings disregard in each of the last three years.

David Gauke: The number of tax credits awards that were overpaid, from 2003-04 to 2008-09, are available in the HMRC publication 'Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised Annual Awards 2008-09. Supplement on Payments in 2008-09'. This is available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-final-awards-supp-may10.pdf
	The disregard for income rises has remained at £25,000 since 2006-07. It will decrease to £10,000 in 2011-12, and then to £5,000 in 2013-14.